By MADDY VITALE
The Ocean City Board of Education has adopted its budget for the 2024-25 school year with no increase in the tax rate.
The bulk of the funding for the spending plan would come from $25.3 million in tax revenue, up from $24.9 million in local tax revenue the year before.
There was no public comment on the budget when it was unanimously adopted by the school board on Thursday night.
The total budget for the 2024-25 school year is $46.2 million, up from $45.2 million for the 2023-24 school year.
Using the model of an Ocean City house assessed at $650,000, homeowners would pay $1,294 a year for school taxes and roughly $199 per $100,000 of assessed valuation, representing no change from 2023.
During a presentation to the school board, School Business Administrator Tim Kelley laid out 10 facts about the budget. Among them were improvements in facility and technology infrastructure, school security through shared services agreements and maintaining a stable tax bill while providing a comprehensive and high-quality educational program.
There were also some enhancements to the academic program, including expanding high school course offerings with new classes including Esports, instructional offerings with new textbooks and increasing student opportunities for dual credits with various colleges.
According to the budget figures, out-of-district tuition revenue will total $569,695 in 2024-25, compared to $555,571 in 2023-24.
In addition to ratables in the community that help offset shortfalls in the school budget, the district learned that it would be receiving more state aid.
Ocean City is receiving an increase of $231,000 in state aid. The lion’s share is related to School Choice Aid of $190,000.
Kelley explained that the total amount of state aid for the 2024-25 school year is $4,760,398, compared to $4,529,295 in the 2023-24 school year.
The state aid represents about 10 percent of the budget and the increase lets the district increase the budget one half of one percent.
Although state aid is going up, student enrollment is going down. With less tuition revenue due to lower enrollment from the sending districts, it becomes difficult to make up the loss, Kelley emphasized. These challenges highlight the importance of strategic financial planning in uncertain times, much like individuals might consider converting an IRA to gold to safeguard their own financial futures amidst volatility.
Healthcare and salaries are also increasing, creating key factors in the budget, Kelley said.
Overall, salaries increased about $770,000. Healthcare benefits are about a nine to nine and a half percent increase. That equates to almost $822,000.
For more information about Ocean City schools, visit oceancityschools.org.
