Residents of Carlstadt will pay a smaller portion of the Becton Regional High School budget next year, according to preliminary budget numbers obtained from the Carlstadt-East Rutherford Board of Education.

Though Carlstadt accounts for about one-third of all Becton students, it paid 57.15 percent of the school tax levy in 2007-2008, a total of approximately $5.9 million. Preliminary projections for the 2008-2009 budget have Carlstadt’s share down to 53.39 percent, or $5.7 million.

Despite accounting for a sizeable majority of Becton’s student population, East Rutherford paid only 42.84 percent of the school’s tax levy last year. In accordance with Becton’s school funding formula, "payments in lieu of taxes" or "PILOTs" from Meadowlands properties are not factored into East Rutherford’s tax base. These payments are in excess of $5 million annually and are set to increase over the next five years as the Xanadu development is completed.

The preliminary total for the Carlstadt-East Rutherford tax levy is $10,685,290, up from last year’s figure of $10,274,317. The $410,973 increase represents the maximum allowable under state law that caps year-to-year levy increases at four percent.

The regional district expects to net $559,961 in aid from the state of New Jersey, a 4.5-percent or $24,366 increase from last year’s state aid total of $535,595. These numbers vary slightly from state aid projections released by Governor Corzine as part of his new school funding formula. According to the state’s numbers, Becton received $585,811 in aid under the 07-08 budget, and is scheduled to receive a two-percent increase—the minimum allowed under the new plan—to $597,527 for the upcoming year.

The tax levy, combined with state and miscellaneous sources of revenue, comprises a total budget of $11,875,695 for 2008-2009, a 5.7-percent increase from the 07-08 total of $11,239,924.

Details of the budget, including specific appropriations, will not be released until the preliminary numbers are approved by Bergen County DOE superintendent Aaron Graham, which by law must be no later than March 19. In the week following county approval, the Becton BOE will schedule a public meeting on the budget. Pending any changes, the budget will then be put to a vote in April.