West Deptford School Budget Represents Bigger Decrease in Tax Rate

With just over two weeks until the school board election, West Deptford Superintendent Kevin Kitchenman announced Monday night that there was one more adjustment to the proposed budget’s effect on the local school tax rate.

Initially pegged as 3.83¢ increase in the school tax rate, that number was revised to a 0.91¢ rate decrease. Now, after getting the official numbers from the township’s Chief Financial Officer, it’s going even lower.

Under this year's revaluation and shift in tax burden, the proposed 2011-12 school budget officially represents a 2.12¢ decrease in the school tax rate for the average home valued at $208,179.

The $43,237,095 budget raises $28,437,427 via the local tax levy, which is $557,596 more than last year, and goes up the maximum 2 percent allowed by state law.

Kitchenman and business administrator William Thompson previously said they typically create a chart of the expected effect on taxes for several different tiers of home values, but the revaluation this year made that “almost impossible.”

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For members of the community who want a detailed look at the budget, the user-friendly version has been posted above as a PDF, along with the complete budget presentation delivered at back on March 28, as well as a vote-by-mail application.

A separate interview with Kitchenman on the budget on WDTV is also available online.
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Important school election deadlines:
Monday, April 18: Meet the Candidates Night at WDHS, which starts at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 20: deadline for receipt of mailed requests for a vote-by-mail ballot.
Tuesday April 26 at 3 p.m.: deadline for in-person requests at the county Board of Elections for vote-by-mail ballots.
Wednesday, April 27: the school election; polls are open from 2 to 9 p.m.