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Schools

Clark Board of Education Adopts 2012-2013 Budget

$31,512,518 allocated for total operating budget.

The Clark Board of Education adopted its 2012-2013 school budget Tuesday, with $31,512,518 set for general expenses, including $27,490,840 raised by the tax levy.

The budget first introduced to the public for discussion, where people questioned tax increases and special projects. But after a quick discussion, the board approved the amount that will be used to set programming for the next academic year.

The budget is approximately $1 million more than last year's budget - an increase the board attributes to the growing district. The average cost per pupil is raised by $200 from last year for the 6,042 students expected in the district.

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The average cost per student for the 2012-2013 budget is $12,469.

The budget was approved by the county after the board considered the preliminary budget on March 13.

Find out what's happening in Clark-Garwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The budget accepted that the general fund was raised $27,490,840 and debt services fund was raised $1,537,009 for the upcoming academic year. Overall line items stayed fairly consistent with last year's numbers, with a slight increase of taxes coming in to support programs, the board said.

A major blow to the budget was a decrease in federal funding through grants. The district lost $400,000 in federal funding, dropping this year's total to $825,000.

Before diving into the financial debate, the Board of Education honored Clark's bowling team for their second straight championships at the Watchung Conference, Union County, and State Sectional Champions.

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