Long Valley Passes $46M School Budget With Investments To Pre-K

LONG VALLEY, NJ — The Washington Township Schools Board of Education unanimously passed its $46,390,895 budget for 2023-24 at its Tuesday night meeting.

For an average homeowner in Long Valley with a home assessed at $439,258, they would see a tax increase of $137 per year.

According to Washington Township School District Superintendent Peter Turnamian, the tax levy will increase by 2.68 percent for the upcoming school year. The school board attributed the tax increase to a variety of factors, including inflation and the overall reduction in state aid.

One quint section at the middle school, as well as an unfilled guidance administrative assistant position, will be eliminated to compensate for the 2023-24 school budget cut, officials said.

The Washington Township School District was initially set to lose $467,500 in state aid — a decrease of over 4 percent — under aid figures for the 2023-24 school year announced by the New Jersey Department of Education in March.

Read more: Small State Aid Cut Set For Washington Township Schools For 2023-24

However, a new bill would restore two-thirds of funding set to be cut at 161 NJ school districts, including Long Valley.

Read More: Bill Returns $102M To NJ School Districts Hardest-Hit By Proposed Cuts

For the Washington Township School District, that means $308,550 less to be cut.

However, even under the deal, the township school district will still lose $158,950 in state aid.

Turnamian stated once more that, while the district was losing money, he believes that the worst of the district's financial problems have already passed.

This year's budget includes an expansion of the popular integrated pre-k program.

"We got a lot of positive feedback about it. I'm pleased to say that the budget for next year supports an expansion of integrated pre-k. It is staying at Cucinella but expanding to Flocktown and to Old Farmers Road School as well next year. We think that is a huge accomplishment and we could not be prouder," Turnamian said.

Another investment that the district will be provided with this year's budget is additional resources for all teacher aides within the district.

"Our aides play a valuable role in all of our schools, and it's not a position that often gets high-quality professional development or support. We have funded in this year's budget, an annual aide training and orientation in August, so that when our teachers come back, we're going to have a day when our aides also come back," Turnamian said.

The initiative will also include after-school training for the aides, officials said.

At the Tuesday meeting, the school board unanimously voted to approve the school budget.