Hawthorne board opts to seek 4.9% tax-levy increase, citing state funding shortfalls

The Hawthorne Public School District Board of Education voted on April 14 to pursue a 4.9% tax-levy increase under a one-time application process announced by the New Jersey Department of Education, the board said during a special work session. The board's action directs district staff to prepare a resolution to submit an application to the Commissioner of Education by the April 14 application deadline.

The board held an hour-plus discussion before taking a public straw poll that produced a majority for the 4.9% option. Trustees framed the choice as weighing short-term taxpayer impact against longer-term program and staffing risks if the district did not seek the additional levy authority. Board members noted this is a new, fast-turnaround opportunity from the state that allows districts to apply to increase expenditures beyond the typical tax-cap process.

Why it matters: district leaders said the state’s funding calculations indicate Hawthorne is spending below the adequacy standard used by the department, and the department has opened a temporary application process permitting several percentage options above the base tax-cap calculation. Board members said the district faces the choice of tapping roughly $900,000 from its maintenance reserve for budget balance or seeking local revenue through the levy application; they described the recommendation from the finance subcommittee as the 4.5% option but said several trustees favored a slightly…