Schools
Westwood Regional School Board Approves $52M Budget
The average Westwood resident will see a slight decrease in taxes, while the average Washington Township homeowner will see an increase of almost $20.
The Westwood Regional Board of Education unanimously approved a $52 million budget for the 2013-14 school year during their meeting Thursday night.
The $52,600,772 budget includes a .5 percent tax levy increase for a total levy of $46,550,241.
The amount of taxes paid by Westwood and Washington Township residents will shift slightly in the borough's favor, though they will still be paying about 53 percent of the levy. Taxes for the owner of the average Westwood home assessed at $397,000 will decrease about $2 while the owner of the average Washington Township home assessed at $533,000 will increase almost $20.
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The budget allows to the district to maintain their approximately 400 full- and part-time employees and add a second elementary school guidance counselor, according to Interim Superintendent Rory McCourt. The district will also be able to continue its integrated preschool and full-day kindergarten programs, as well as higher-level courses and extracurricular activities, he said.
"We are maintaining our core programs with an emphasis on educational best practices," McCourt said.
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McCourt also noted that Westwood Regional had a larger percentage of passing students on the NJASK test in all grade levels and the HSPA test in all subject areas compared to the state and District Factor Group averages last year.
State aid will remain flat at about $1.6 million to make up 3.14 percent of the budget's revenue. That number is down from the $3.1 million the district received in state aid for the 2009-10 school year, after which Gov. Chris Christie slashed aid to many districts across the state.
"We simply don't receive as much state aid as we used to," McCourt said.
A user-friendly copy of the budget and a Powerpoint presented by McCourt are available on the district's website here.
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