Hillsdale School Board Approves $21M Budget

The Hillsdale Board of Education approved the district's budget for the 2013-14 year during their meeting Thursday night.

The $21,269,414 budget includes a tax levy of $18,716,186, a 1.97 percent increase from this year, Superintendent Rick Spirito said. That equates to a $99 increase for the average home assessed at $469,400.

The district will receive about $800,000 in state aid, but an increased Schools Development Authority fee the district must pay will cost them about $33,000, up about $11,000 from this year. Spirito also said they are anticipating a reduction of about $30,000 in federal aid.

Spirito said the district will be maintaining their current class sizes and staff levels. They will also be adding a new literary coach, additional secretary time, new part-time special education position and more time for existing special education staff, as well as the addition of two more Italian classes for seventh- and eighth-grade students.

The budget also allows for the installation of new fiber optic cables to the district's three schools and board of education offices. They and Pascack Valley Regional Schools have agreed to enter a shared service agreement for Internet service starting in September. 

Board of Education President James Hayden said the past few budgets have been difficult because of changes in state aid, but he believed this budget would allow the district to "give our children a good public education."

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