Bellmawr School Taxes to Increase; Annual Election Wednesday
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
By Chris Concannon
Gloucester City News
The annual School Board Election in Bellmawr will be Wednesday April 27. The polling locations, Bellmawr Park and Ethel M. Burke Schools, will be open from 2 to 9 p.m.
The Board of Education is proposing a budget of $13,923,142, which is approximately $500,000 higher than last year’s $13,421,698 numbers.
The increase is necessary to cover a variety of fixed costs, such as salaries and health care for teachers, administrators and other District staff.
Information obtained by the NEWS indicates that Bellmawr’s per pupil cost is just over $10,000 for this school year.
This cost encompasses everything needed to cover each student in the Bellmawr School District.
According to District sources, the higher budget numbers will carry a tax increase.
School taxes will be elevated by about $29.35 annually, on an average assessed home of $170,000.
District officials as well as Board members have been garnering strong support to pass the budget, and are asking voters to consider the rising costs of educating Bellmawr’s children when they go to the polls.
Also, there are four candidates vying for three seats on the Bellmawr Board of Education.
They are Incumbents Jody Mangus, Michael “Juice” Williams and Michael Eckmeyer, as well as newcomer Edward Legenski.
Any questions or concerns may be directed to the District offices at (856) 931-6298, or on the web, at bellmawrschools.org.
