Hazlet board adopts 02/2526 budget after corrected busing analysis and program restorations

The Hazlet Township Public School District Board of Education adopted the 02/2526 budget at a public meeting, approving the plan in a roll-call vote after discussion about restored programs and a corrected courtesy-busing analysis.

Board President (name not specified) said the district faced a $5,100,000 gap during planning for the current budget cycle and that the board had previously declined to use last year's full allowable tax increase to cover the shortfall. "But late in 2023 when we started doing the planning for the budget for this year, we were $5,100,000 gap that we had to fill," the president said.

The president told the board administrators and an outside demographic firm also examined busing as a potential cost-saver and initially reported about $800,000 in savings from eliminating courtesy busing. The president said the consultant later found a calculation error that compounded route costs by treating route-level savings as per-bus multiples, producing an inflated figure. "That weekend ... he sent an email saying that they messed up," the president said.

As a result of the corrected figures, the board opted not to eliminate courtesy busing this year and instead chose to allocate roughly $1,500,000 of the district's potential $5,000,000 tax capacity to restore programs and positions cut the previous year. "We're bringing a lot of programs back, targeted reading, basic skills, a number of other programs ... and courtesy busing," the president told the board.

A resident who addressed the board during public comment pressed district officials for details about the busing analysis and budget transparency, asking, "When was the bidding process started for the courtesy busing analysis? When was the company awarded the contract? When was the company provided the district busing information? When did the company provide the district with the analysis of the originally stated $800,000 savings ... How did the company find their mistake?" The resident also asked about administrative staffing levels, building capacities, and when a public-friendly version of the budget would be posted.

The president said members should email additional questions to the district for responses and moved the meeting to the agenda item for formal budget adoption. A motion to adopt the 02/2526 budget was made and seconded; the board carried the motion in a roll-call vote.

Roll-call votes recorded in the meeting transcript list the following board members as voting yes: Mister Ashford; Mister Barrett; Miss Brown; Gagan; Miss Goldin Viviecki; Missus Moreno; and Mister Reynold. The meeting minutes show the motion passed.

The budget discussion traced decisions back to March, when the board previously adopted a budget and asked administration to present options for restoring programs if the state's guidance allowed more local tax capacity. The board president said administration and consultants rechecked numbers before the April meeting; when the consultant disclosed the error days before the meeting, the board refocused on closing the remaining gap while restoring some services.

The board adopted the budget after the discussion. The president said the district would provide answers to outstanding public questions by email and noted the budget rollout would be addressed again at the board of education meeting at the end of the month.

Votes at a glance: Adoption of the 02/2526 budget (motion text: "adoption of the 02/2526 budget"). Outcome: approved by roll-call vote (see actions for tally and names).