Can Belleville Board Trim School Tax Bill?
School board budget committee looking for all possible cost savings before unveiling final 2013-14 school budget at March 25 public hearing.
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Belleville Board of Education members are meeting twice to try and prevent a tax increase before the public hearing March 25 on the 63.5 million school district budget for the 2013-14 academic year.
School board member Joseph Longo said Tuesday that he and board member Bill Freda are looking to reduce spending in the budget.
Longo said the committee's goal is always to keep taxes from increasing.
"We're trying to keep the tax impact as small as possible," Longo said. "It helps that we got a bump in state aid, but there are still a lot of issues to resolve."
The total state aid for kindergarten through grade 12 in the district for fiscal year 2013 was $25,130,065.
The projected total aid to Belleville in fiscal year 2014 is $25,630,065, or an increase of $500,000, Longo said.
The budget includes increases to improve curriculum and resolve all security issues in all of the schools after the Sandy Hook shootings last December, he said.
"Almost all of our facility issues involve security, from updating phone and security camera systems to general modernization of the buildings," Longo said.
While a very preliminary budget was introduced, Longo said a lot of work remains to be done by the committee.
"It is still all kind of being formulated," he said. "We will have a couple more committee meetings before we bring the budget to the board, and then the public, and there will likely be refinements."
Last year, the board's final 61.3 million 2012-2013 school budget contained zero dollar tax increase for a home assessed at $244,562, the average value of a home in Belleville last March, and was the second year in a row that the average tax bill did not rise.
This year's $63.5 million budget goes before voters April 16 for approval or rejection, and will appear on the ballot during the school board election.
The school board election will be uncontested, with incumbent John Rivera, Lillian Torres, and Raymond Kuebler slated for the three, three-year terms.
Rivera challenged Christine Lamparello’s petition to run and it was later disqualified, according to officials.
The other two incumbents this year, board vice-president Patricia Inaugurato and three-term board trustee Vincent Strumolo chose not to run.
Belleville Sentinel
5:38 pm on Monday, March 25, 2013
Perhaps Mr. Freda can explain how the new BOE vehicle storage site at 62 Bella Vista Ave (in light of the imminent razing of School #1) just happens to be owned by his father-in-law? And perhaps the BOE collective can explain to us how the hiring of Mr. Escott (and associates) as a school security chief in the wake of the Newtown tragedy has nothing to do with his close ties to Richard Yanuzzi and their failed attempt to force Mr. Escott into the Town Manager's position last year following Victor Canning's departure? Or how earlier this year NJ State Officials began an investigation at the Belleville MIddle School following the revelation that its students are now under-performing their counterparts in Camden?
The Belleville BOE is a cesspool of political patronage and nepotism. Moreover, 6 of 7 of the Town Council members have immediate family members employed by the BBOE and collectively, and with the guidance of Richard Yanuzzi, they conspire to reward marginally qualified family and friends at the expense of taxpayers and ultimately jeopardize the future of the Town's children. Moreover, together they refuse to move the April school board election to November (as most other NJ towns have now done) in the deliberate effort to keep the voter turnout to an absolute minimum to ensure continuity of the current cabal.
watchamean
5:38 pm on Monday, March 25, 2013
Vote No on the Budget!!!!! Then leave the Booth!!!!!!!
Vinnie Frantantoni
8:16 am on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
At the BOE budget presentation it was revealed that the average assessed home in Belleville will see a $277.00 tax increase. We have yet to hear what the Municipal and County tax increase will be. We can expect more business closings, more foreclosures, more "For Sale" signs, and a longer list of delinquent taxpayers. We have elected people to "serve" on our BOE and Township Council who are EXPERTS at providing patronage jobs to their friends, family, and political contributors.