Robbinsville board approves 2025–26 budget, rejects additional expenditure increase

The Robbinsville Board of Education on April 28 approved the district’s 2025–26 school budget and voted against seeking an additional, one‑time expenditure increase offered by the New Jersey Department of Education.

The vote keeps the district’s local property tax levy at levels already approved through prior referenda and the board’s use of the 2% cap and a one‑time health care waiver. Board members earlier rejected a separate proposal to apply for a further expenditure increase; that motion failed during a previous special meeting with four board members voting no, three in favor and two members absent.

The superintendent, Doctor Pizzo, said the budget aims to protect student‑facing programs while acknowledging longer‑term fiscal constraints. “Our district is at a fork in the road,” Doctor Pizzo said, arguing that the district remains roughly $5 million below what the administration described as adequate funding and that the budget will require additional planning and community engagement to address a persistent structural gap.

Business Administrator Mister McCreese reviewed the revenue mix the board used to craft the proposed budget: the local levy accounted for roughly three quarters of district revenue, and state aid roughly 15 percent. McCreese and Doctor Pizzo said those proportions leave the district exposed to state aid declines and federal funding uncertainty; administrators noted a possible shortfall if federal grants were reduced and said courtesy busing would be at risk if that occurred.

Administrators described several measures used to close immediate gaps: maximizing allowable levy increases, using a health care waiver, preserving curricular initiatives where possible, raising some extracurricular and sports fees, and drawing on reserves and grant opportunities. The board and administration said they would widen community engagement this spring and summer — including surveys, public forums and targeted outreach — before proposing any new, sustained revenue plan.

The board’s approval of the budget followed the county’s prior review and public advertisement of the tentative budget. The administration warned that absent new revenue streams the district is projecting a multi‑year structural shortfall and urged continued public discussion before the board considers further revenue actions.

Less urgent line items and planned capital projects were left for separate committee review and bond planning, officials said, including discussion of debt service reduction that may create a future window for capital or operating investments.