POINT PLEASANT BEACH — The Point Pleasant Beach Board of Education has approved a tentative budget for the 2025 to 2026 school year totaling $23,239,024, which is 5.55% more than the previous year.
Homeowners in Point Pleasant Beach can expect to pay 75.6 cents for every $100 of assessed property value, or roughly 2.9 cents more than for the 2024 to 2025 budget, on their tax bill. The school tax rate is estimated to increase by 2.89% in the 2025 to 2026 school year over 2024 to 2025. This translates to a $355,037 increase in the tax levy, from approximately $15.6 million to $15.9 million year-over-year.
A home assessed at the municipal average of $578,482 would pay $167.33 more in school taxes for 2025 to 2026 than 2024 to 2025, on a school tax bill totaling approximately $4,375.
The tax levy, totaling $15,931,416, is made up of two numbers: a local tax levy of $15,511,466 for Point Pleasant Beach and Mantoloking, and a debt service levy of $419,950 for Point Pleasant Beach and Mantoloking. This is a tax levy increase of 4.29%, according to a presentation given by the board at Tuesday’s meeting.
The increase in the district’s operating budget this year, according to the presentation, is “mainly spread across a few key areas. The primary drivers are rising tuition costs, the increasing expense of employee benefits, and some adjustments in staffing levels…These are pretty typical pressure points for school districts.”
The district will also see an increase in state aid for this budget cycle of $34,619. Programs are largely being maintained as is, with only “moderate adjustments to staffing overall, but nothing drastic.”
Board President Elizabeth Boyle asked, “In terms of the overall school budget as a portion of our tax bill, what does the school budget represent in terms of percentage?”
Board Business Administrator Brian F. Savage said, “The tax levy is a combination of county, municipality and school. We actually, over the last 10 years, have been a decreasing percentage of that total; this year, we’re going to be just over 42% of the total tax levy. I’ve heard there are some neighboring districts that are high, around 70%…I think what we’re doing here is being fiscally responsible; we have to take care of everyone, not just the students.”
The budget for 2025 to 2026 was unanimously adopted by the board of education.
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