Local School Tax To Decrease

Homeowners will see a decrease in the local schools portion of the tax bill for the 2011-12 school year. The overall school budget was reduced by 2.1 while the tax levy was reduced by 3.1 percent. That translates to a savings of $361.52 for a home assessed at $1,032,252, the borough's average.  

The K-8 school district introduced its budget Tuesday night. It is scheduled to go before voters on April 27, a Wednesday. Historically, Franklin Lakes voters have been supportive of the district, approving the budget in 19 of the last 20 elections. 

According to officials, the decrease is due, in part, to paying off the debt on the 2002 Colonial Road School referendum, which decreased the debt services portion of the tax levy by more than $1.2 million.

The district also received an additional $251,625 in state aid this year. Of that, the board has put $100,000 toward property tax relief while appropriating the remainder for facilities repairs, utilities and other personnel expenses. 

Here's a closer look at the numbers:

2010-11 (Adopted) 

$6,198.56