Brick Township Board of Education/Schools (Photo: Daniel Nee)
It remains unclear whether Brick taxpayers will face a significant school tax increase this year as the release of state funding figures are still a month away.
Meanwhile, Brick school district officials say they are putting together a lean budget that will provide school board members with options on how to move forward.
“I would say, conservatively, that if we don’t get our state aid numbers until mid-March, I hope that the governor’s office and the DOE will extend that period a bit longer so we can put a fair an equitable budget together for the public,” said Acting Superintendent Dennis Filippone.
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Last year, Brick was threatened with a loss of $1.4 million in state funding for its schools. In the months that followed the announcement, state officials restored the half – then all – of the education dollars for the 2017-18 school year. But with a new administration in Trenton, it is unclear whether previous aid figures will be extended or if towns like Brick, which receives what is known as adjustment aid, will face cuts.
Adjustment aid is provided to districts that, under a state formula, are considered to have tax rates that are too low. Brick is among those districts and received $14,936,092 last year. Its total operating budget was $154,421,700.
