MORANA: SCHOOL TAX COULD’VE BEEN WORSE
By WIL FULTON
Red Bank’s school board unanimously approved the boroughs 2013-2014 school budget at the Thursday night before a small group of residents and school officials at the primary school.
The spending plan weighed in at $13.2 million, up $522,503, or 4.1 percent, from last year. The increase might have topped 8 percent, had the district chosen to employ “banked cap,” a method that allows districts to exceed the state-mandated limits on budget growth, said Superintendent Laura Morana.
But when we thought about the impact [the tax levy] would have on households, and families for community members in Red Bank, we decided it was too high, Morana said. We wanted to be responsive to the needs of our children meeting their educational needs, having the appropriate personnel, supplies and technology but at the same time, we needed to think about the members of our community, and really think about the impact on the community.