CAPE MAY — After dropping nearly 15 percent under the current budget, the elementary school tax rate is falling again in Cape May, this time by just more than 14 percent.
The Cape May City Elementary School Board of Education adopted its $5.386 million budget May 1, calling for a rate decrease of 5.8 cents to 35.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. Taxpayers will see their bill drop by $58 to $352 for every $100,000 of assessed value.
A $1 million boost in state aid for military students helped the school board reduce its tax rate by nearly 15 percent for the 2024-25 spending plan. The tax levy remained at $1.96 million, while the local purpose tax rate fell from 48 cents to 41 cents per $100 of assessed value.
At the time, Business Administrator John Thomas said the school had received a new category of state aid for military students of more than $1 million. This year, the tax levy again remains steady.
Thomas attributed the rate decrease to a drop in dependent children of U.S. Coast Guard members.
He said the district gets military impact aid from the federal government, which it has been receiving since the 1950s, and state military student aid intended to provide tax relief to local taxpayers.
Thomas said that while the state military aid amount dropped by $477,000, it’s based on the number of students.
“It’s always an ebb and flow; we never know who’s coming,” he said.
Enrollment is expected to increase overall. Regular education numbers are projected to rise from 137 in October 2024 to 158 in October 2025, while the district is expected to receive five new special education students for a total of 14. Six special education students will again be placed outside the district.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Cape May Star and Wave
