Ventnor Educational Community Complex
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR The Board of Education Wednesday, March 24 held a public hearing on its $23 million 2021-2022 school year budget, which includes a $16.7 million tax levy that will reduce the school tax rate by 4 cents.
Business Administrator Terri Nowotny presented the budget which included changes made since the Atlantic County Executive Superintendent of Schools approved it earlier this month.
Ventnor has a Type I school district, with the governing body responsible for approving school funding. The Ventnor Board of Commissioners requested a $900,000 reduction in school spending, but after negotiating with the district, agreed to reduce spending by $450,000 by bonding certain planned improvements to the school building.
The agreement reduced the tax levy an additional $450,000, reducing the proposed tax rate of $.8342 to $.8124 per $100 of assessed valuation, down from $.8515 last year, for a total tax rate reduction of 4 cents. A homeowner with a house assessed at $150,000 will pay $1,218.67 for school taxes, for a savings of $58.50 over last year's amount.
The bonding agreement calls for the city to bond an estimated $2.35 million this year to pay for HVAC improvements, based on a 4-year draft projection of capital improvement projects. Nowotny said the projections are currently under review, and the exact amount of the bond is unknown at this time.
All educational programs have been preserved and the district will improve its social studies and elementary science curricula. Because Head Start did not renew its contract to rent space in the early childhood education area of the Ventnor Educational Community Complex, the district requested and received additional state aid to expand its pre-kindergarten program.
The district increased the use of surplus funds to $1,451,887, up from $1,137,999 last year, and it withdrew funding from reserves - $200,000 from its capital fund and $500,000 from tuition reserves.
The district also saved $415,173 on the cost of tuition to Atlantic City High School due to two factors 12 fewer students attending the high school and a $1,012 reduction in the cost of educating each student in the high school. Tuition to other schools, including ACIT and ChaARTerTech, went down 11%.
Costs for the Public Employees Retirement System increased, along with premium increases of 3% for employee health insurance, 5% for prescriptions and 7% for dental. The district's contract with the teachers' union is due to expire on June 30.
The district touted a reduction in staffing, including a full-time administrator, part-time clerk and two part-time instructional aides, but it added a full-time preschool teacher due to the elimination of Head Start, and a full-time and part-time aide. The district also planned to hire a full-time remediation teacher to deal with the aftermath of hybrid remote learning during the pandemic.
The city's effort to bond school improvements is saving now, but future tax increases may loom, Ventnor Education Association President Gina Perkins said.
Two years ago, the city bonded $9.3 million to pay for school improvements in an effort to control taxes.
Once that money gets removed from the school budget, it doesn't come back, she said, requesting the board further investigate the future implications of bonding.
School board President Douglas Biagi agreed there could be a day of reckoning, but there is no malice in the city's effort to control taxes.
Bonding will save on the rate during this harsh year, he said. They will never do anything to harm the taxpayers.
Board member Kim Bassford said she was grateful the city did not nitpick the budget like in prior years, and Michael Hagelgans said interest rates are so low now that the additional interest paid over the life of the loan would be minimal.
The Board of School Estimate, which includes the commissioners and the president and vice-president of the school board, is scheduled to review and vote on the budget 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 31.
In other business, the board approved the use of facilities for outdoors and socially distanced summer camps and National Night Out, but held off approving the use of the small gym for an adult basketball league. The Katz JCC agreed to pay the district $20,000 to rent classroom space during the summer months to ensure all of its Camp by the Sea participants can be socially distanced.
Recreation Supervisor Jerry Thomas said the city had adjusted its summer recreation programs to ensure social distancing is adhered to and will have strict guidelines for attendance and sanitation.
The district also approved the use of the building for voting for the June 8 Primary and Nov. 2 General Election. Students will have a virtual day instead of being in class on June 8 and Nov. 2 will be a teacher in-service day with no students in the building.
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