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VENTNOR – The Ventnor City Board of School Estimate is scheduled to review the school district’s proposed budget at a public meeting being held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 2 at Ventnor City Hall, 6201 Ventnor Ave. The board is comprised of the three city commissioners and two Board of Education members.
The Board of Education approved its $21.6 million budget at its last meeting on March 27 with a $5,216 decrease in the school tax levy. The district will use $1.1 million in surplus funds to bolster the budget and come in with a slight tax rate decrease. The budget maintains current educational programming and adds a basic skills teacher. The district received state funding to add another preschool class.
According to Business Administrator Terri Notwotny, with an $11.5 million increase in ratables, the school tax rate will be 80.85 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, down from 87.78 cents last year. A homeowner with a house assessed at $150,000 will pay $103 less for education this year.
The commissioners previously asked the board to reduce the tax levy amid declining enrollment but cannot pinpoint programs or staff for cuts, Mayor Beth Holtzman said.
Holtzman said enrollment has decreased 36 percent over the 10 years and the budget should reflect it.
“For the budget to come in with a zero increase like it has in the past is not acceptable, because it is not justified,” Holtzman said previously.
On Tuesday morning, Holtzman said she did not know if the board would suggest further cuts to the budget.
“We can only approve of disapprove of the tax levy,” Mayor Beth Holtzman said. “We can only give them a number by which to reduce the tax levy. It’s up to the administration to decide where to make cuts.”
Holtzman said it takes three votes to approve the budget as it was presented.
“We’ll have to see what happens at the meeting,” she said.
