The state-leading 18.6-percent increase in aid to Red Bank schools disclosed Monday put the Board of Education in a pleasant position a day later: having to rework a preliminary budget to accomodate an additional $2.36 million $367,871 in funding for literacy programs, preschool and full-day kindergarten, today’s Asbury Park Press reports.

Board member Ben Forrest would also like to see some relief for borough taxpayers.

From the story:

“One of the things on the table should be tax relief for the taxpayers of Red Bank, they’ve carried a heavy load,” Forest said. “I want to improve programs, but I want to help people as well.”

[Schools superintendent Laura C.] Morana said that would be one of the district’s goals.

“We keep in mind that it is not a blank check,” she said.

A preliminary budget for the coming school year was to have been voted on Tuesday night, the Press’ Larry Higgs reports. But the aid windfall means reconfiguring the spending plan to accomodate the funds. The district has until March 13 to get a preliminary budget in place.

Red Bank, the Press reports…

was one of 217 districts to receive the largest increases based on having more than 15 percent of students eligible for free or reduced-cost lunches, which is one measure of a community’s relative wealth.

Morana is quoted as saying the district “will look at reassessing our early childhood learning and language arts literacy programs.”

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