RIH Reserves Additional State Aid For 2012-13 Budget

Under a tight deadline to decide how to use the additional state aid announced last week, the Ramapo Indian Hills Board of Education opted to take no action. Instead, the board will hold on to the additional $463,000 to use or to offset property taxes in 2012-13 budget. The tax rate needs to be submitted to the county for certification by 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 19. 

In order to apply the aid to the 2011-12 budget, as either property tax relief or rolled into the budget, the district needed to take formal action at Monday night's meeting. The board opted to defer the decision, which required no action at this time. 

District Administrator Frank Ceurvels said the timespan between notification of the additional aid and the deadline to submit it to the county was too tight for the board to make any changes. 

Last Wednesday, the governor announced the increase in state aid to schools. On Thursday, the district received notification from the state. On Friday, board members were given details concerning how the money could used: to increase spending and modify the 2011-12 budget, to offset taxes in this calendar year, or to hold it over until school year 2012-13 or 2013-14, to be used for either property tax relief or in the budget. 

"Most boards would not have time to meet and make a decision in that time," Ceurvels explained. "We were lucky to have this meeting already on the calendar so we can discuss it. Most boards didn't have that option."

Under Ceurvels' recommendation, the Finance Committee felt most comfortable holding the money, which is doled out in 10 installments during the year, for future use. Other board members said they agreed with that choice. 

Wyckoff Councilman Thomas Madigan implored the board to return the money to they taxpayers, something he said he felt was the intent of the state aid. 

According to Ceurvels, if applied as property tax relief, the annual tax bill would decrease by $23 for the average Franklin Lakes homeowner, $16 for the average Wyckoff home owner, and $10 for the average Oakland homeowner. 

"We have no idea about a lot of things that could happen in 2013," he said, noting that state aid has become a wildcard in the past few years. "It is always good to have extra money in reserve."