State monitor says he’ll overrule decision rejecting Atlantic City school budget

ATLANTIC CITY (AP) — The state Education Department monitor assigned to Atlantic City's schools says he's reversing a decision to reject a proposed budget that includes 226 layoffs.

The Press of Atlantic City reports monitor Gary McCartney said Tuesday he hopes the school board will approve the budget after it has more time to review it. The board voted 6-4 against it on Monday.

The proposed $147 million budget is almost $20 million less than the current budget. The amount paid by property taxpayers will drop from $118 million to almost $82 million.

McCartney told the board the district is in a precarious financial position after the city's ratable base dropped from $20 billion to $7.35 billion.

A public hearing on the budget is set for May 18 at 6 p.m.

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