Revised Budget Adopted By Barnegat Township School Board

BARNEGAT, NJ — The 2023-24 budget for the Barnegat Township School District was finally adopted with a smaller tax increase than originally planned.

The proposed 6-cent tax increase did not go over well with residents and particularly the Barnegat Township Committee, who urged taxpayers to attend the last Board of Education meeting. Two former Barnegat mayors spoke at that meeting, criticizing some of the accomplishments touted by the board. Read more: School Board Budget Sparks Controversy Among Barnegat Residents

Now, the approved budget will come with a 4-cent tax increase, which means a taxpayer with a home assessed at $300,000 will pay an additional $120 in taxes.

This budget comes with reductions in positions, delays in textbook replacements and a more aggressive estimate in supply and service expenditures among other things, school officials said.

"The reductions are not ideal," noted Business Administrator Stephen Brennan, but "they will not significantly impact the learning environment of Barnegat students."

Audience members included current district employees who asked that the budget be approved in its original form, fearing that cuts would be detrimental to their students.

Caroline Prestera, a mother that had two children graduate from the district, was one of those who asked for the full 6-cent tax increase to be approved.

"My children got the best of the best," she said. "And children today need to get the best of the best, and the children of the future...they deserve the best of the best as well."

Those who spoke also mentioned the benefits of having vice principals in the schools, though Board member Scott Sarno said that they were unnecessary and should have been eliminated years ago.

"I don't care what the number is," he said of the budget. "I will not support it unless I think the cuts fairly represents the district. Not our teachers, not our clubs, not charging our parents for kids to go into clubs or sports teams."

In rebuttal, Superintendent Brian Latwis said that the district has had "tremendous success at the hands of people that you see in this room right now."

Sarno voted no to the budget, along with Sandra Churney, Carole Geene and Lauren Washburn.