HOWELL – At the recent Howell K-8 School District Board of Education meeting, members introduced the tentative $149.3 million budget for the 2024-25 school year.
The public hearing is scheduled for May 6. After the public hearing, board members have the option to adopt the budget.
According to the board, the $149,332,245 budget will be supported by $86,987,316 in taxes collected from Howell’s residential and commercial property owners.
The budget will be used to operate 12 schools, which have an estimated enrollment of about 5,400 students, according to the school district.
The pre-kindergarten through second grade schools consists of the Adelphia School, the Greenville School, the Griebling School, the Land O’ Pines School and the Taunton School.
Schools who have grades three through five are the Aldrich School, the Ardena School, Memorial School, the Newbury School and the Ramtown School.
The two middle schools for grades six through eight are Howell Middle School North and Howell Middle School South.
In Governor Phil Murphy’s preliminary budget announcement for the 2025 fiscal year, the Howell School District is slated to receive $22,118,857 in state aid for the 2024-25 school year. According to the NJ Department of Education, this is an increase of $1,517,548 or 7.79 percent.
Despite years of losing state aid due to the S-2 funding formula, Howell will receive additional aid in the plan’s seventh and final year. At the March meeting, board members did not discuss the increase in state aid or what the additional funds would be allocated for.
Additionally, the board’s agenda did not include information as to how the proposed budget will impact local property taxes during the upcoming year.
Currently, residents pay municipal taxes for Howell K-8 and Freehold Regional High School districts, Monmouth County, fire districts, and open space.
A public hearing on the final budget has been scheduled for May 6 at 7 p.m.
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