Schools: Town Tax Would Dip, Twp. Would Jump

It's not uncommon for people who live in Morris Township to simplify things a bit, and say they live in Morristown. When they see their school taxes this year, they may wish it was actually true.

That's because under a school budget that goes to voters Tuesday, Morristown residents are slated to get a tax break, but township residents would see taxes go up.

The $101,197,974 Morris School District budget, if approved on Tuesday, would decrease Morristown taxes by $71 a year on a home assessed at the town average of $354,000.

In Morris Township, a home assessed at the township average of $390,000 would see a $135 increase. The disparity is due to a change in equalized property values between the two municipalities.

Although Morris Plains students attend Morristown High School, Morris Plains has its own school district, so they are not assessed directly by the Morris district.

The two districts need a majority of votes for the budget to pass. Meaning, if one town overwhelmingly approved it, and one town turned it down by a small margin, it could still pass. If it was rejected, however, it would need to go before both Morristown's council and Morris Township's committee, where it would need to be examined and potentially cut.

The budget, which is $574,237 less than the 2011-12 spending plan, will go before voters on April 17. Under a new state law, the district could have chosen to skip the public vote, and — because the district doesn't plan on raising its tax levy (the total amount of money collected in local taxes) enough to force a vote. In fact, the tax levy is set to stay essentially flat with 2011-12, at just $81,679,048 (actually, it's a $46,095 decrease).

But board members decided to forgo that option, and send the budget to residents, as they always have before.

State aid has increased from last year. The Morris School District is getting $5,973,619, up $464,375 from last year's $5,509,244. That additional state funding is being budgeted as tax relief under the proposed plan.

Morristown's current tax rate of $1.27 per $100 of assessed valuation would drop under the proposed budget to $1.25. The Morris Township tax rate of $1.40 per $100 of assessed valuation would increase to $1.44. Those taxes do not include municipal and county taxes, which are set separately.

Other highlights of the budget, which Superintendent Thomas Ficarra has presented throughout the past several weeks, include a description of debt payments as a percentage of the Morris School District's annual budget. Those only represent 1 percent of the budget. 

Administrative costs, according to the regional limit, can be at $1,945 per pupil in any given district. In the Morris School District, they are $374 less, at $1,571 per pupil.

Instruction represents the largest chunk of expenses, at 80 percent, in the budget. Ficarra's presentation states "more than 90 percent of the proposed budget is invested in student instruction and proper maintenance of 1,276,000 square feet on 201 acres of taxpayer-owned [land]."

No cuts are expected in programs or services under the proposed budget.

"You may recall that last year dramatic cuts in school aid were made to districts throughout the state," Ficarra said. "Consequently, the Morris School District lost millions of dollars in state aid. This loss resulted in significant cuts to all budget categories."

Cuts at the time needed to be made in support staff, including teacher aides, groundskeepers, technology staff and secretarial staff, other programs, including guidance, counseling, transportation and summer school were not cut, the superintendent said. 

Because the district has been able to maintain its buildings over the last decade, there has not been a need to borrow large amounts of money in order to rehabilitate them, Ficarra said.

"The ability to restrict debt, by eliminating borrowing for maintenance and construction during the past 13 years and for the forseeable future, has enabled the district to allocate its funds for the instructional programs needed to educate our children."

Overall, Ficarra said, the Board of Education and Morris School District administration "remain committed to supporting an exceptional educational program for all the children in our schools in the most cost-efficient manner possible."