Freehold Township School District adopts $89.38 million 2025-26 budget; tax levy rises about 4.3%

The Freehold Township School District board approved the district’s final 2025-26 budget, totaling $89,380,691, during its regular meeting. The board adopted the budget by voice vote after a presentation from the district’s business office.

Robert Davide, the school business administrator and board secretary, led the presentation, saying, “This is our final budget presentation. Nothing has changed from the last time we met when we approved the tentative budget.” He told the board the net new taxes total about $3,300,000, a roughly 4.3% increase from the prior year.

The budget document shown to the board lists the general fund at the center of district revenue. Davide said the general fund tax levy rises 4.1% once the district takes a health-care waiver and the debt-service tax levy rises 6.8%. He also noted a modest offset from a decreased Verizon tax assessment and said the district’s assessed value is estimated to have increased about 10.7% year-over-year.

Why it matters: the budget sets the district’s spending and the portion of local property taxes that fund schools. Davide told trustees that the district’s revenues remain heavily dependent on the tax levy—about 88% of general-fund revenue—and that state aid represents roughly 8% of the budget, up about $551,000 (8.2%).

Key budget figures and drivers cited in the presentation: - Final budget: $89,380,691, an increase of approximately 1.9% ($1.7 million) over the prior year. - Net new taxes: roughly $3.3 million (about 4.3%). - General fund tax levy increase: 4.1% after a health-care waiver. - Debt-service tax levy increase: 6.8% (reflecting scheduled bond payments from past referendums). - Assessed-value growth: estimated 10.7%; the average home assessed value cited was $677,000 (up from $611,000 the prior year). - Revenue mix: tax levy ~88% of general-fund revenue; state aid ~8%. - Fund totals: special revenue fund budgeted at $933,000; debt-service fund at $4,100,000.

Davide and the board highlighted spending-side pressures. Benefits costs were called “the elephant in the room,” with an approximate 10% increase in medical and prescription costs budgeted for the coming year; benefits comprise about 26% of expenditures. Energy costs for electricity and natural gas are budgeted about 15–20% higher than the prior year because of market-rate increases, officials said. Classroom instruction remains the largest expenditure category (about 38%), but its share edged down slightly due to rising benefit costs.

Planned staffing changes included in the budget: one additional special-education teacher (position TBD), two regular-education teaching positions (to be finalized once enrollment and class-size data are reviewed), four new teacher assistants, and one full-time equivalent facilities position. The board also budgeted for a 10% increase in medical and prescription costs and noted anticipated stop-loss renewals for employee health insurance.

The business administrator said federal grant budgeting assumptions changed: the district was instructed to budget IDEA and ESEA grants at 75% of current-year allocations rather than the 85% typically used, citing reallocation of unused funds at the state level.

Board procedure and next steps: the board approved the final budget during the finance committee items and recorded a voice vote in favor. No public referendum was required for these budget figures, the business administrator said. The presentation closed with the superintendent and administrators preparing to reopen the budget portal next year to begin the 2026 cycle.

Ending: Trustees and administrators said they will provide further updates over the summer on borrowing/refinancing and on referendum scheduling and building swing spaces as necessary for planned projects.