"Squeezing every penny out of every corner," Superintendent Adam Fried said the proposed $10.1 million school budget is the result of a careful balancing act.
Harrington Park School faces a modest $91,530 state aid increase and a projected 16 percent jump in student enrollment next year.
Despite these challenges, Fried said the budget would add new teachers, expand extracurricular activities and replace textbooks in all grades.
The budget represents a 6.4 percent increase from last year’s $9.5 million school budget.
A majority of the total budget will be raised by the $9 million tax levy, which accounts for a $441,297 difference over this year’s tax levy. The tax levy equals out to a 5.1 percent increase.
For the average owner of a $645,000 assessed home, it would result in a $267 yearly school tax increase. In other words, the average resident would pay an extra $22.25 per month.
Added highlights to the preliminary budget include the refurbishment of 40-year-old heating units to be replaced with energy efficient equipment because "we want to be energy smart," Fried said.
Increased staffing will reduce large class size numbers and nursing services will experience growth. In addition, the "Bright from the Start" program for incoming kindergarten students will continue and a new handwriting program for second- and third-graders will appear.
The superintendent said that he continues to work with town officials in the search for grants and alternate revenue sources. In two years, Fried said that the district acquired more than $300,000 in funding.
Keeping tax increases at bay is priority, he said, in light of the state’s inability to provide aid.
Next year the district will receive a $102 increase in state aid per student, totaling $709 in state aid per student.
With an estimated $11,317 per pupil cost, taxpayers have to pick up the remaining $10,608 tab.
"With more funding we’d be able to be more creative," said Fried. "But right now, we’re pretty much spaced out."
