Watchung Hills budget projects 3.7% operating increase as special-education costs surge; board weighs cuts including late bus

Watchung Hills Regional High School District administrators on the budget preview warned that rising out-of-district special-education tuition and transportation costs have driven the district’s projected 2025–26 operating increase to about 3.7%, and they outlined proposed cuts and use of reserves intended to hold the tax levy to 4.1% using allowable waivers.

Superintendent Elizabeth Jewett said the draft includes technology and academic investments she called “essential,” including an ongoing classroom furniture refresh, Chromebooks for the 1:1 program and upgrades to the TV production studio. “We really do consider these essential,” Jewett said during the board presentation.

The main pressure on the budget, administrators and board members said, is special-education tuition and related transportation. Business administrator Timothy Stice told the board that out-of-district tuition and transportation rose from roughly $4.2 million in 2023–24 to an anticipated $5.3 million in 2025–26 — “over $1,000,000 over where we were just 2 years ago,” he said, and described that increase as “really tough to get past.”

Stice said state categorical aid for security and special education rose modestly, and that the district received a roughly flat debt-service aid tied to a 2013 referendum. Stice also reported that the district typically receives additional special-education reimbursement through an application-based “extraordinary aid” process and raised his conservative estimate for that reimbursement by $100,000, bringing his extraordinary-aid projection to $300,000 for planning purposes.

To limit the tax impact, Stice proposed a mix of one-time reserve use and spending reductions. He said the district can use capital and maintenance reserves for one-time projects (he identified capital reserves of roughly $5.7 million and a maintenance reserve of about $1.2 million) and recommended against using reserves for recurring costs. On the cuts side, Stice listed specific reductions that together bring the budget to cap: elimination or reduction of roughly 3.2 positions (salary and benefits savings about $350,000); trimming supplies by about $36,000; deferring a digital records program (Parchment) at $24,000; reducing uniforms about $35,000; consolidating transportation/athletic trips (about $33,000); and eliminating the late bus service (estimated savings $80,000).

Board members pressed on equity and student access concerns. Board member Susan (identified only by first name in the transcript) said removing the late bus “affects kids who have no other option,” and asked whether alternatives such as raising parking fees or charging for parking had been considered. Stice replied that eliminating the late bus was an administrative recommendation but acknowledged it was ultimately a board decision.

Several board members and administrators urged collaboration with feeder districts to reduce future special-education costs, citing a regionalization/shared-services study. Board member Morrison said working more closely with K–8 districts through the regionalization study could “help tremendously” by aligning programming before students arrive in ninth grade.

Stice presented the levy math: last year’s levy was just under $35 million, and the statutory 2% allowable increase equals about $700,000. He described two “waivers” the district can apply — a health-care waiver (about $400,000) and previously banked cap authority — that, together with reserve use and cuts, would permit a 4.1% levy increase in the draft. Stice also provided town-by-town examples of the homeowner impact: he said the average Warren home’s annual increase would be roughly $66, Watchung Borough’s typical annual change would be about $148 (a drop in the borough rate but higher assessed values changing the dollar amount), and Long Hill Township’s average local increase would be about $100 annually.

Stice said the operating-budget increase is about 3.7% while the overall budget including debt service is about 2.8%, and that he is estimating a lower federal grant level in this draft, budgeting IDEA at about 85% of prior expectations because those federal funds affect special-education budgeting. “That particular grant’s the only one that actually has any impact because that actually impacts the tuition,” Stice said.

The administration emphasized the difference between one-time capital work and ongoing operating costs — proposing that reserves be tapped for one-year capital or maintenance projects (Boiler condensate tank replacement, fume hood repairs, fire door repairs, data-room AC replacement and other infrastructure) but not for recurring personnel or program costs.

The board and administration said they will bring a fuller presentation to the next meeting, including a deeper allocation discussion and community outreach. A public forum tied to the regionalization/shared-services study was announced as tentatively scheduled for April 10; the administration said it will present a fuller budget review at the next board meeting.

Votes at a glance

The meeting record shows multiple omnibus roll-call approvals during the session unrelated to final adoption of the 2025–26 budget: motions to approve grouped consent items were moved and carried (see provenance). The transcript lists the following motions and roll-call outcomes (as recorded orally in the meeting):

- Motion to approve items A1 through A7 — motion carried; roll-call recorded unanimous “Yes” votes from the members present (named in the roll call). - Motion to approve items A8 through A10 — motion carried; roll-call recorded unanimous “Yes” votes. - Motion to approve items C1 through C7 — motion carried; roll-call recorded unanimous “Yes” votes. - Motion to approve items D1 through D5 — motion carried; roll-call recorded unanimous “Yes” votes.

Each of those grouped motions was presented and acted on during the meeting; the transcript does not list item-level details for every C- or A-item in the roll calls, so item-level content is “not specified” in the public record excerpt.

Why this matters

Board and administrators framed the budget as manageable in the short term but posing structural risks if special-education tuition and transportation continue to rise. The combination of one-time reserve use and targeted cuts is designed to limit tax impact this year, but several board members warned the district needs longer-term strategies — including collaboration with K–8 districts — to contain future costs without reducing student services.

What’s next

Administrators said they will present a fuller budget packet at the next board meeting and continue community outreach tied to the regionalization study and an April 10 public forum. If revenues or grant assumptions change, the board retains the option to restore cut items from the administration’s “extensive list” of deferred projects if new funds become available.