Nutley School Budget Passes

The Nutley School Board passed its 2013-2014 budget unanimously following a brief public hearing on Monday night. 

The budget raises taxes $57.19 for the average Nutley home for a total tax levy of $52,931,802. Including money from the special revenue with debt service funds, the school's total budget is just over $64 million. 

Superintendent of Schools Russell Lazovick said the money was slated in accordance with the board's strategic plan for the district, with the school making its largest investments in instructional resources, professional development, student information systems and performance tracking.  School officials said adding they planned meticulously, going line by line through the budget for savings. 

Lazovick said the school was making highlighted three significant one-time costs: $476,000 in instructional resources, $45,000 in athletics and $425,000 for the capital reserve deposit—a kind of rainy day fund for school repairs. Lazovick added that the district was looking to hire new staff, particularly for special services.

"For too long, we've been accepting retirements without finding replacements," Lazovick said.

During the budget presentation, board members also highlighted cost reductions, including a $134,000 reduction in employee benefits following an increase in the amount school employees contribute to their benefit costs. In addition, board members noted that the debt service cost had gone down following refinancing.

At a meeting earlier in March, Nutley Business Administrator and Board Secretary Karen Yeamans said the $64,051,871 spending plan fits under the 2 percent cap on increased spending, or about $900,000.

Last year's average tax increase was $38.72, Yeamans said.

Yeamans said the budget was revised to reflect savings from refinanced bonds.

The district will receive $6,921,852 in K-12 total aid for 2013-2014, a .  Lazovick had previously said the state aid number is built into the budget assuming flat funding, so the district was prepared for the negligible increase.

Like a large number of state school districts, Nutley's state aid was reduced in 2010, with township schools receiving about a third less from the state than in 2009. In 2011, Nutley schools received a 10.2-percent increase from 6,282,953 to 6,921,851.

Under state tax law, the budget approval vote by citizens has been eliminated unless expenditures exceed the state-mandated 2 percent maximum, and Yeamans said the Nutley budget does not exceed that cap.