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Barnegat board adopts 2025-26 budget, approves 3% tax levy after state aid changes
Summary
The Barnegat Township Board of Education approved a $2025-26 final budget that includes a 3% tax levy increase after the state approved supplemental aid; board leaders said the plan avoids staff cuts while addressing rising costs in special education, benefits and utilities.
The Barnegat Township Board of Education on April 29 approved the district's final 2025-26 budget and a proposed 3% tax levy increase after the New Jersey Department of Education approved the district's levy adjustment.
Board President Scott Sarno said the administration and board worked to avoid staff layoffs despite reductions in state aid, and that the package keeps the district "student-focused" while responding to mounting costs. "We did not cut any staff. We did not cut any programs," Sarno said during the hearing.
Business administrator Kate Van Tassel and Superintendent Brian Latwes led a public budget presentation and hearing before the vote. Van Tassel said the district faced roughly $3 million in reduced state aid over the past two years, but identified savings that limited program cuts. She told the board that transportation outlays previously paid to outside vendors were reduced from about $2.4 million to roughly $1.1 million after moving more routes in-house, and that improved extraordinary-aid accounting recovered approximately $1.5 million for the district this year.
Van Tassel also cited rising fixed costs: payroll rising from about $33 million to $37 million year-over-year, utilities increasing from about $1.1 million to $1.4 million, and an anticipated 15% increase in health-benefit costs. The administration said those pressures, along with growing special-education demands and increasing student mobility, prompted the district to request the higher levy. Van Tassel said the proposal would increase taxes on a $300,000 home by about $7.92 per month.
During the hearing, Superintendent Latwes outlined program priorities: adding two special-education classrooms this year with two more expected the next year, continued investments in technology and preventive facilities maintenance, and a push to capture all eligible state aid by verifying student special-education costs and free/reduced lunch eligibility. He said the district expects to continue pursuing shared services and tuition revenue from other districts to offset local costs.
Resident commenters asked about energy and digital-textbook cost savings. Michelle Laswitz suggested conservation measures and device-lease or rental options; Van Tassel said the district uses lease-purchase agreements for Chromebooks and that mold risk prevents simply turning HVAC systems off. Latwes added that some digital-subscription platforms can cost more than multi-year hard-copy purchases, so the district evaluates those on a case-by-case basis.
The board opened the budget hearing by roll call and later closed it. Members then voted to adopt the final 2025-26 budget and related motions. The motion to approve the final budget passed on a roll-call vote with all nine members recorded as Yes: Miss Cherney, Miss Continenza, Mr. Fedorzic, Ms. Jeannie, Mr. Hearn, Ms. Miska, Ms. Taranowski, Ms. Washburn and Mr. Sarno.
Why it matters: The board's action sets the district's spending and tax levy for the coming year and funds rising costs in special education, benefits and facilities while preserving current staffing levels, according to administrators.
