Evesham board approves $100.19 million budget, $88.9 million tax levy increase

The Evesham Township Board of Education approved a $100,186,119 general fund budget and a $88,905,012 tax levy at its meeting, adopting the district’s final 2025–26 spending plan after public comment and debate.

The budget approval follows the district’s application to the New Jersey Department of Education for additional local tax levy authority to close a funding shortfall the administration described as being roughly $15 million below the state’s adequacy target. The application requests $14,212,041 in additional local levy authority and $710,602 in state tax-levy incentive aid; the district said the NJDOE is still reviewing the submission.

The district attributed the need for added local revenue to long-running declines in state aid associated with the state’s S2-era adjustments. “We are nearly $15,000,000 under adequacy, which is an absolutely astronomical and outrageous amount,” Doctor Smith said during the final budget presentation. Superintendent Smith and other administrators detailed spending priorities tied to the extra levy: restoring the district’s 2% fund balance with a $200,000 deposit, replenishing a $500,000 maintenance reserve, and directing about $7.6 million to capital reserves for building and infrastructure repairs.

Business administrator Mister Yates walked the board through the revenue and appropriation breakdowns. He said the district’s tax levy will increase from roughly $70 million to $88,905,012 after taking the allowable enrollment adjustment ($2,336,320) and the full additional levy authority ($14,212,041). The administration said staff salaries and related benefits account for the largest share of spending: roughly 54 cents of every dollar goes to staffing alone, rising to roughly 70–75 cents when benefits are included.

Administrators listed several capital priorities included in the plan: heat-pump replacements, roof work at DeMacy and Rice elementary schools, parking-lot repairs, HVAC control upgrades, boiler and chiller work, tree removal, phone and public-address upgrades, and a $283,000 withdrawal from capital reserves for the Marlton Middle School sewer ejector pump station and a prorated share of the municipal fuel pump replacement under the shared-service agreement.

The budget shows an average assessed home in Evesham with an assessed value of $272,785; the administration presented an example increase for that average assessed home from $3,654.47 to $4,564.45 — about a $909–$910 annual increase. Yates noted the district’s net taxable value rose modestly year-to-year, which the administration said will help spread the increase across a larger ratable base.

Public comment was robust and sharply divided. Several residents and union representatives urged the board to reject or scale back the levy increase and to seek alternatives such as banking part of the allowable cap, pursuing a referendum for capital projects (which would trigger state matching funds), or staggering spending. Bob DeLuca, a resident and taxpayer, urged the board to “take the additional $9,000,000 out of the budget” and call a special meeting. Angel McDermott, the NJEA representative for the Evesham Township Education Association, defended drivers and other staff and said the association will meet next week with district leadership to propose alternatives to outsourcing transportation.

Board members were split in public comments: several said they were pained by the size of the increase and the impact on taxpayers, while others said restoring services and addressing capital and staffing shortfalls was necessary after years of constrained state funding. The finance-and-operations motion (items 9.1–9.19) carried on roll call after several board members recorded dissent on specific subitems.

The administration said some items budgeted for capital could be deposited into reserves if not spent during the coming year; Missus Noll asked whether the district would earn more interest by doing that and was told interest rates would be similar whether the money was in reserve or general fund.

Next steps: the district will implement the budget as approved and await NJDOE’s final determination on the additional tax-levy application. The administration said it will prioritize urgent building and safety work and return any unspent designated capital funds to reserves at year end.