$86.3M Chatham Schools' Tentative Budget For 2023-24 Introduced

CHATHAM, NJ — The School District of the Chathams Board of Education has introduced a tentative budget of $86.3 million for the 2023–24 school year that would increase the property tax levy by two percent, district officials said.

More information about what is in the budget and what will be cut will be presented at the board's April 24 meeting, when the budget will be presented for final approval.

The preliminary budget was presented by Chatham Superintendent Michael LaSusa, who noted that the budget was able to stay within the two percent allowed cap because it includes a one-time expenditure of $2.1 million in surplus COVID-19 funds.

"Naturally, that is only a one-time measure. These are not recurring funds, so doing that means we have to try to position ourselves through reductions in other areas to have a sustainable budget picture next year," LaSusa said.

LaSusa also stated that the proposed budget required more work and problem-solving than usual to fill several gaps in revenue caused by a variety of issues, such as inflation and increases in the cost of healthcare, among others.

The tentative budget is $86,318,775, including debt service, and $70,957,436 is to be raised by property taxes.

The budget also includes a $500,000 cut in teacher salaries due to declining enrollment.

The $86.3 million budget will result in a $328.18 increase for Chatham Borough homeowners with a $1 million assessed value and a $254.21 increase for Chatham Township residents with a $1 million assessed value.

Due to the fact that Chatham will be unable to use the surplus COVID-19 funds in the following year's budget, Bradley Smith, chair of the board's finance committee, has proposed two questions for the general public to vote on in the November elections.

The first question would seek approval for $850,000 to add security vestibules to the district's six school buildings.

"Right now we don't have schools in the district with double sets of locking doors that you can manage visitors a little bit better with. Any school built in New Jersey, now, must have those, must have security vestibules in place," LaSusa said.

If the community approves this question, the 1.23 percent budget increase for the first question would be permanent, with any additional funds raised going toward future capital improvement projects.

The second question on the ballot in the future referendum will request a $900,000 budget increase, or 1.30 percent, to provide health benefits for full-time paraprofessional staff. because, currently, the district cannot incorporate this into the operating budget.

If both questions were to pass, the budget would increase by 2.53 percent more than the current 2 percent cap increase.

The two questions would result in a $45.53 increase per $100,000 of assessed property value for Chatham Borough residents and a $33.03 increase per $100,000 of property value for Chatham Township residents.

Under Gov. Phil Murphy's 2023–24 budget, the School District of the Chathams received $4,780,762 in state funding, which represents an increase of 1.35 percent from what it received in 2022-23.