Hoboken Board of Education Proposes 2.36% Increase in 2015-16 Budget

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The Hoboken Reporter recently ran a story indicating that Hoboken property owners are set to pay more in taxes for their public schools. This will be the third consecutive rise for the schools.The proposed school budget is approximately $68 million.

The new budget is 4.8 percent higher than the current year’s budget total. Of the full 2015-16 budget, $53.47 million will cover the district’s general operations, a 2.36 percent increase from the current budget.

The district is proposing a 4 percent increase in its local tax levy, from $39.4 million to just over $41 million. The average assessed property in Hoboken would see a $75 increase in school property taxes if the budget proposed is adopted without changes.

Click here for additional data on school spending in Hoboken 

The school board has raised taxes every year since it voted in 2012 to do away with the public’s right to vote on the school tax levy unless it grows by more than the state cap of 2 percent. 

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According to the article, the Hoboken Public Schools’ 2015-16 tax levy increase is allowed to exceed 2 percent because the district had banked $696,000 worth of flexible cap space by not taxing the maximum increase in recent years. As such, the budget should not have to be approved by a citywide referendum.

The Hoboken School District is ranked 67th out of 68 schools in their enrollment group (K-12 1800-3500 students) on per pupil spending. Hola is ranked 8th out of 88 schools in their enrollment group (Charter Schools). -NJDOE data 

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