Hawthorne board approves 2025-26 budget, raises tax levy to about 4.04%

At a regular meeting, the Hawthorne Public School District Board of Education approved the district's final 2025-26 budget after accepting a state additional-expenditure allocation that raised the district's tax levy to 4.04%. Dr. Frito, a district staff member who presented the budget, said the change will increase the average assessed homeowner's tax by about $14.76 per month (about $177.12 per year) based on the district's stated average assessed home value.

The board's vote followed a presentation that summarized the budget process, revenue and appropriation drivers, and a late March notice from the New Jersey Department of Education that allowed eligible districts to apply for additional expenditure authority and incentive aid. The presenter said the district initially submitted a tentative budget to the county on March 20 and then applied by April 14 for additional expenditures under a state program for districts that are "below local fair share" and deemed to be "spending below adequacy" under state statute. The district requested $734,557 and was approved for $311,007 in additional expenditures plus $15,550 in incentive aid, a total of $326,557, the presenter said; the presenter said that change raised the tax levy calculation to…