School Board Budget Keeps Tax Rate Flat

By Maddy Vitale The Ocean City Board of Education introduced a school budget for the 2019-20 school year with no tax increase. The total budget is $41.6 million, down from $43.1 million last year. The bulk of the funding for the spending plan will come from $22.7 million in local tax revenue, School Business Administrator Timothy Kelley said during a presentation to the board Wednesday night. While the budget will not result in a tax increase, Kelley noted that the district will lose just under $60,000 in state aid in the new budget. That means the owner of an average home assessed at $500,000 will pay roughly $1,080 in local school taxes for the year, the same as last year’s figure. The board has not seen an increase in taxes for at least the past four years. “I just love saying no increase. Good job, Tim,” board member Cecilia-Gallelli Keyes said. Kelley said he does his best to present a solid budget. Some of the areas he looks at when creating a budget include the district’s strategic plan, classroom needs, operation needs and state-mandated requirements and programs. “We need to be mindful and responsible,” Kelley noted of the spending plan. The district offers a wide variety of programs including Pi Day at Ocean City High School. (Photo courtesy JASM Consulting) Schools Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Taylor commended Kelley’s work on the budget and said the district works together to do the best job it can for the students and staff. “We work with the staff to make sure we have what we need and do it in a reasonable way," Taylor said. "We are proud and excited about the new school year.” Ocean City's tax base has gone up by $133 million this year, giving the city more tax ratables, which helped the district present a budget without an increase in the school tax rate. After the school board introduced the budget Wednesday night, the county deadline for budgets to be in, Kelley said it would be immediately sent to the county. Some changes in the 2019-20 budget from last year included tuition revenue, which was up from $11.3 million in 2018-19 to $11.4 million for the 2019-20 budget. The most dramatic difference was to the capital outlay portion of the plan, going from $1.6 million last year to $489,815 for the 2019-20 school year. Kelley attributed the decrease to ongoing projects that are slated to be completed in the Intermediate School and Primary School. Those projects were previously funded. And unlike last year, when there was a slight increase to the cost of employee benefits, the figure went down from $7.9 million to $7.7 million for 2019-2020. A public hearing on the budget and a final vote by the board are scheduled at the Board of Education meeting May 1, Kelley said. Ocean City High School