A Taxpayer's Guide to South Brunswick School District Spending

The South Brunswick School District's total spending per pupil came in at $15,409 for the current school year, according to the NJ Department of Education (NJ DOE).

The department's guide breaks down the amount by category, including classroom instruction, supplies, benefits and salaries.

The Total Spending Per Pupil category provides a more detailed breakdown of district spending, including state expenditures on behalf of the districts, according to the DOE. This figure uses a larger enrollment number than is used for the budgetary cost indicators, including pension and social security payments made by the state on behalf of districts; transportation costs; all food services expenditures; and payments by the district to other private and public school districts for the provision of regular, special, and preschool education services.

The budgetary per pupil cost includes a district's general fund and special revenue fund budget (early childhood aid, preschool expansion aid, and preschool education aid) for servicing students enrolled in the district that are considered comparable across school districts. Under that category, South Brunswick's actual budgetary cost amount per pupil came in at $10,995.

South Brunswick spent $6,780 per student for classroom instruction, and $1,278 per student for support services.

Support services include areas which supplement daily classroom instruction, including "attendance, social work, health and guidance services, educational media/school library services and the child study team," according to the NJ Department of Education.

The district spent $6,588 per student on salaries and benefits for teachers, staff and administration, a $31 decrease from the previous budget.

Under the administration category, the DOE divides the cost by total administrative costs and salaries and benefits. Total administration breaks down expenditures related to general administration, school administration, business and other support services. Total administration includes the costs for activities concerned with "establishing and administering policy for operating the district, and the costs associated with the overall administrative responsibility for the individual schools."

Administration salaries is a subcomponent of Total Administration that includes the full-time, part-time and prorated salaries of superintendents, assistant superintendents and other general administrators, board secretaries/school business administrators, as well as principals, assistant principals, department chairpersons, along with secretarial and clerical staff for these departments. 

Total administrative costs totaled $1,298 per student, while administrative salaries and benefits totaled $1,149. Legal services totaled $19 per student, while supplies and classroom textbooks totaled $157 per student.

In March, the South Brunswick Board of Education approved a $138.5 million spending plan for 2013-14 that will carry no tax increase for residents.

The budget reduces the tax levy by about $239,000 to $96.2 million, and holds the tax rate firm at about $2.85 per $100 of assessed valuation. Over the last seven years, the school tax levy has nearly remained flat, with the 2013-14 levy decrease keeping it near the same level for the fourth consecutive year in South Brunswick.

The budget was able to keep the tax rate flat even with a slight drop in tax ratables (-.23 percent), the fourth consecutive year tax revenue has decreased. The township has lost $600 million in ratables from successful tax appeals since 2007, while the ratio of assessed property value to market value dropped from about 80 percent to 47 percent in South Brunswick over the last decade.

Last year, South Brunswick's 

To view more of the detailed spending report, and how it compares to previous budgets, visit the Taxpayers Guide on the NJDOE website.