Galloway Township board submits $79.95 million FY26 budget, approves 2% tax levy plus partial bank cap

Galloway Township Board of Education on March 17 approved and submitted a proposed $79,946,056 general fund budget for the 2025–26 school year and moved to use a 2% tax levy increase plus a partial bank cap of $315,000 to close a budget shortfall.

The budget, submitted to the county office as required, carries a local tax levy of $38,213,658 and was approved by roll call at the meeting. Business Administrator Joy Nixon told the board the district received a $1,600,000 increase in categorical state aid but was capped by the state at a 6% maximum increase; administrators said the district would have been entitled to roughly $3,200,000 under the formula but received about half of that under the cap.

Why it matters: The administration said federal grant funding is expected to decline and district expenditures are rising faster than the increase in state aid, creating a shortfall that requires limited use of reserve authority. "We are expected to have an anticipated reduction in those federal funds," Nixon said during the presentation, and the administration budgeted at 25% less for certain federal grants, a reduction Nixon said equates to about $560,000.

Administrators presented revenue and expenditure drivers. They said salaries and benefits are the largest pressures (salaries up about $1,200,000; benefits up roughly $1,100,000), transportation costs were estimated to rise with the CPI (about $380,000), utilities were budgeted for a 15% increase (about $180,000) and tuition/student services were estimated to rise by about $500,000. Total anticipated expenditure increases for FY26 were described as nearly $3.4 million, producing an approximate $1.7 million gap between revenue increases and expenditure needs.

To address that gap, the board approved (by motion and roll call) a 2% tax levy increase (about $743,000) combined with a partial use of the banked cap of $315,000 for a total of $1,058,111 from local sources. The administration said that results in an average tax impact of $28.86 per year (about $2.40 per month) for a home assessed at $200,000; administrators noted a $3.86 per-year giveback this year tied to debt service falling off the tax rate.

The administration stressed the timeline for the budget process: state aid calculations and releases in late February and early March, submission to the county by March 19, county review in April and a public hearing and final adoption at the board's May 5 meeting.

Votes at a glance: In addition to the FY26 budget submission, the board approved multiple routine agenda items during the same meeting with roll-call votes, including curriculum items 8.1–8.4; finance item(s) listed under 9.2; personnel items including acceptance of retirements and other personnel motions listed under 10.1 and 10.3–10.9; policy second-read approvals 11.2–11.11 and first-read approvals 11.12–11.21; old-business items 12.1–12.2 (revised 24–25 calendar and HIB affirmations); and new-business items 13.1–13.3. All of those items were presented as "listed and attached" and approved by roll call with no opposing votes recorded on the transcript.

Administrators said they would continue to monitor final federal grant notices, which typically arrive between May and June, and that final federal amounts could affect summer programming decisions such as extended school year services.

Looking ahead: The board will hold a required public hearing and final vote on the budget at its regular meeting on May 5; the submitted budget will be reviewed by the county office in April. The administration said it will keep the board and public informed if federal grant notices or other changes require budget adjustments.