School board OKs new district budget Spending plan will hike tax levy 21 percent. Tax rate scheduled to be set in early May. Thursday, March 29, 2007 • BY SARA K. SATULLO • The Express-Times OXFORD TWP. | The Oxford Central School Board of Education approved a budget Monday that will increase the school's tax levy by 21 percent. The school's tax rate will not be set until the township committee passes its budget, probably in early May, board member Matt Hibbett said. Chief School Administrator Bob Magnuson said the school needs an additional 22.5 cents per $100 of assessed value to run its operations, which may be offset by the township budget. The $547,608 increase in the levy will allow the district to dig itself out of debt to the Warren Hills Regional School District, said Patricia Decibus the school's business administrator. About half of the 22.5-cent increase will not be needed next year once that debt is paid off, Hibbett said. Forty-five percent of the tax levy's increase is due to $2.3 million in tuition costs for 2007-08. Oxford residents voted to not join the regional district when it began and each year must pay tuition fees. The rising costs are compounded by the fact Oxford owes Warren Hills $205,000 in back tuition for the 2004-05 school year. About $90,000 of that figure will be covered by money Oxford has in reserves, Decibus said. In the past, the state only allowed the district to put 10 percent into reserves, Hibbett said. Taxpayers will need to foot the bill for the remaining $115,780 and pay another $110,700 for current tuition. "The bulk of the increase comes back to rising tuition costs and enrollment going up at the high school," Decibus said. "There are 200 students who never set foot in this building, who no one sees, but we still provide a host of services for them." The budget also calls for hiring two additional teachers for the third and fifth grade starting at $45,000. The second grade class currently has 36 students enrolled and the fourth grade has 40 students, Decibus said. "Mr. Magnuson and the board think that is just too large," she said. "They want to bring class size down." Hibbet commended Magnuson's and Decibus' efforts, this was their first year with the district drafting a budget. Instead of incorporating standard 4 percent increases across the board, the pair looked at the actual cost of services from the ground up. Reporter Sara K. Satullo can be reached at 908-475-2174 or by e-mail at ssatullo@express-times.com. © 2007 The Express-Times. Used by NJ.com with permission.