Well, looks like the Edison Board of Mythomania, aka Edison Board of Ed-Dems will hold a public meeting on May 5th on the School Budget for 2021-22.
What's the point, other than a legal requirement? It's not like you can change anything. These annual Bloated and Out-of-Control $pending Pots of Money have already been approved by the County Super and you'll have no say in changing anything.
So, let's make sure you understand some things about this Fiscal Year School Budget for 2021-22. It now has $285.6 million in total $pending, which is up $11.4 million or 4.15% over last year.
First, understand that school budgets are done on a Fiscal Year basis from July 1 to June 30th. Since we are taxed on a Calendar year basis for property tax purposes, they have to convert their school budget to a calendar year budget.
All they do is take the second-half of last years fiscal year budget (Jan-June) and add it to the first half of this years fiscal year budget (July-Dec). Now, because it's a mix of two fiscal year budgets, it can result in a change in the calendar year tax rate, as it has in this year's school budget.
It's deceptive and misleading for them Not to explain this to you and why you can't let them claim they've delivered a school budget with no school tax increase. There's a whole bunch of reasons why they wanted no tax increase this year but that's for another day.
There is a school tax increase this year and you can see what yours will be in the calculator below.
So, while this school budget has no change in the Fiscal Year school tax levy and hence, no change in the Fiscal Year School tax levy, it does come with a Calendar Year School tax rate of $3.227 (for the reasons stated above) which is up 6.1-cents or 1.9% over last year.
Be aware that what they are showing as last year's school budget understates the Rateables by some $5.6 million and the school tax rate showing up on your property tax bill last year was $3.166 and not $3.168 as shown in their budget.
So, be that as it may, any comments that this school budget comes without a school tax increase would be deceptive and misleading. It's an example of being truthful but misleading - and yes, you can be both.
Here's what you can expect to see on your property tax bill for the School tax this year:
There's a difference between Savings and Repurposing when it comes to the School Board. They often claim savings when they really mean repurposing the money. They often claim to save the taxpayers millions but they never do. Savings only happen for the taxpayer when the school tax rate goes down. Repurposing happens when they just reduce the amount of money they spend on one line-item and spend it on another line-item. So, don't be fooled with their claims of saving millions for the taxpayers.
Their School Budgets are just a synonym for Big, Bloated, Out-of-Control $pending 'Pots of Money' that get exponentially carried forward, at your expense, and result in unnecessary and outrageous increases in the school tax rate.
They carry forward excessive and unnecessary $pending every year and expand it exponentially with the 2% cap, use of the Bank Cap (to take back what they previously claimed as a savings) when necessary, hoard taxpayer relief money and build up reserves and engage in budget deception that lets them hire non-budgeted personnel and make other non-budgeted expenditures you never know about. The single biggest expenditure in the school budget is the Salary line - and it's the biggest padded line with its bogus 'breakage' budgeting among other things. It's also the line where the Staffing 'Shell Game' remains alive and well. That's where they add additional non-budgeted staff each year to the payroll and fail to disclose it to you in the public budget they show you.
They often hoard additional aid that comes in after the school tax rate is struck and, more often than not, use it to increase $pending in the following year rather than return it to you.
The 'Public' copy of the School Budget you see is not the same format they send down for County and State approval.
Their budget line items are not always reflective of what they're thinking or where they'll be for the year since (unlike the Muni-budget) they can make budget transfers from line to line anytime they want during the year. It's a deceptive budgeting practice that allows them to later move money around to where they really want it.
They never tell you how they actually performed against these School Budgets they use to strike the School tax rate. A line-by-line comparison would shock you and you would see how bloated these School Budgets really are and how they move money around.
Even when you had the Right to Vote on these School Budgets, you were Never Voting to approve or disapprove the School Budget in total or its individual line-items - You were just Voting to approve or disapprove the School Tax Levy. They know that but You don't and they take advantage of it.
Public Meetings they have are a misnomer. These School Budgets are prepared by the School Board based on what they want - not what you may care about or want and hinder any attempt at public input. What they labeled and called this years's 'Public Meeting on March 18th was held without even presenting a School Budget to the Public, and most likely, to all Board Members.The Bulk of the money to pay for these Bloated School Budgets, year after year, comes from you, the one who pays all the bills - the often neglected and maltreated Stakeholder, the Taxpayer.
This year's $285.6 million School Budget for 2021-22, aka 'Big Pot of Money' (that looks like somebody just picked the school tax rate change they wanted this year and worked backwards) is even more deceptive and egregious than in the the past.
The school board has been infiltrated by the Edison Democrats and that was never good a good idea to move the school board elections to November with all that money in play. Now, with its inept leadership and complete lack of transparency you can see why.
Yeah - you want to trust this guy with $285.6 million when (1) he wasted 2 years on 'solving' the Overcrowding problem with a plan that would of tripled your school tax increase for the next 30 years and was clearly too much of a financial burden for too little a solution, (2) he claims to of saved the taxpayers million when he just repurposes money and saves nothing and, (3) fails to run open and transparent public school board meeting and blocks any attempt at the open and free exchange with the residents.
Why the School Board is what it is today - a dysfunctional political dictatorship of 1:
Anyhoo, until you recognize what goes on there under the cloak of darkness over on Mythomania Lane and put a Stop to it, it's inept leadership will continue to play you for a fool and drain your pocketbooks year-after-year.
