$123M Westfield School Budget For 2023-24 Will Include Tax Increase

WESTFIELD, NJ — As a public vote on the district budget is just two months away, Westfield's Board of Education presented a preview of the 2023-2024 budget at its meeting Tuesday night.

Business Administrator Patricia Ramos announced that the projected budget for next school year is around $123 million.

As opposed to previous years, the public will have the opportunity to vote on the tax levy increase on April 25.

Last year, the district had a $2.3 million budget shortcoming, which resulted in many teacher and staff layoffs — particularly in the arts department.

This shortcoming was partly due to the state's two percent tax levy cap. Under state law, the district is typically only allowed to increase the levy by a maximum of two percent.

However, Superintendent Raymond González said the district is allowed to increase the tax levy above two percent when there are increases in enrollment or health care costs.

Because of the increased health benefit costs in the last year, Ramos explained that the district is raising its tax levy cap to 3.61 percent.

"Everyone in the state is open to use this adjustment to health care," Ramos said. "It's based on the fact that state health benefits increased by 15 percent last year."

The public will be voting on two questions related to the budget. The first question will consist of the district's maximum tax levy increase under the 3.61 percent cap.

If the first question is not approved, the base budget goes to the Town Council who can make line-item changes if they wish, in consultation with the Board of Education.

Then, the second question will consist of budget expenditures that do not fit under the first question. This means that the public will vote on any non-mandated costs that are necessary for the district to maintain existing staff and programs.

"Question 1 and Question 2 is a combination of votes that will allow us to maintain our existing programs, services and offerings," González explained.

Beyond the 3.61 percent cap, the public will be able to vote on whether or not the district should raise the tax levy another 2.12 percent. However, this additional tax impact may drop to 1.66 percent if the district receives $500,000 in state aid.

González said the district is still waiting to find out how much money it will receive from the state. He said this information will not be known until the school board meeting on March 7.

As the average home in Westfield is assessed at around $806,000, Ramos the potential average tax, with the 3.61 percent cap, would be $10,819, which represents a $314 increase from the last school year.

But if the second question on the vote is passed and the district receives at least $500K in state aid, the average tax would total to $10,989, which in total is a $484 increase from the last school year.

According to the presentation, the district is prioritizing the following in the 2023-2024 budget:

• Avoid impact on students
• Maintain existing programs and offerings
• Remain within class-size/course enrollment guidelines
• Begin to expand programs and offerings

The proposed budget includes maintaining current staff, programming and services, as well as adding teaching staff to the district's English as a Second Language (ESL) program.

"As this community of students grows in numbers each year, we need to provide them with a program that meets their needs in their home school and the requirements of the state," González said.

The proposed budget also provides funds for adding academic support teachers to the Intermediate Schools and the district's Early Childhood Learning Center, as well as more guidance counselors at the elementary level, more Student Assistance Counselors (SAC) at the intermediate level and an additional SAC at the high school level to address mental health programming and student needs.

Senior Patrick Lanza, the student representative on the Board, said the guidance counselors at Westfield High School are "spread too thin" and he believes there needs to be more guidance counselors.

You can view the full Board of Education meeting on YouTube.