BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

LONG BRANCH - City officials are expected to make changes in the school district's $83.7 million spending plan that was rejected by voters last week, according to a school official.

The budget was voted down April 18 with 592 residents voting against it and 446 voting in favor of it.

According to Peter Genovese, school district business administrator, members of the Board of Education plan to work with council members to reach a consensus on a new spending plan for the district.

"We want to keep the financial interests of the taxpayers, as well as the education for the students, in mind," Genovese said.

A final school budget must be completed by the May 19 deadline.

This was the second consecutive year in which voters rejected the district budget.

The spending plan called for a 6.63 cent per $100 of assessed valuation property tax increase.

The defeated budget plan will now be sent to the City Council which can reduce or even increase the amount of money the district plans to spend and raise through taxes.

If the school board believes the changes the council makes would too severely affect the district operations, it may appeal the council's decision to the state Commissioner of Education who would have the last word on any revisions to the budget.

The Long Branch School District was designated as one of the state's 28 original Abbott Districts in 1990.

Abbott Districts are the product of 13 Abbott vs Burke decisions by the New Jersey Supreme Court that identified school districts as "poorer urban districts" that were created to ensure equal educational opportunity for children in those districts.

Due to the Abbott designation, the City Council cannot cut the school tax levy below the amount of school taxes raised by the city for the prior school budget, according to Genovese.

The tax levy for this fiscal year was approximately $25 million, but the state recalculated that figure to bring Long Branch up to equalized valuation and said the district has to raise its tax levy by $1.2 million, bringing its tax levy up to roughly $26 million, Genovese said.

The failed school budget proposed a tax levy of $29.6 million and, according to Genovese, the City Council and Board of Education will come up with a new budget that will call for a tax levy somewhere between $29.6 million and t$26 million.

Also at the polls last week, two incumbents and one newcomer ran uncontested for three open seats on the Board of Education.

Incumbent board President Lucille Perez received 738 votes, incumbent Mary L. George received 752 votes and newcomer Bill "Lorenzo" Dangler received 686 votes.