Montville board moves to adjust tentative budget withdrawals after higher-than-expected bids; William Mason playground repair added

The Montville Township Board of Education heard that the district adjusted planned withdrawals from capital reserve for the 2025-26 tentative budget after summer-project bid openings came in higher than anticipated and a playground repair at William Mason was added to the list.

Board members were told the resolution was placed back on the agenda so the district could make the adjustments and submit the budget to the county before the public hearing. “The adjustment that we were making was adjusting the amount that we'll be removing from capital reserve in order to do those projects,” the board was told during the meeting.

Administrators said bids opened March 20 produced higher costs than expected. They also described a new project added to capital reserve: a repair to the William Mason playground. The playground is “beginning to sag as a result of erosion underneath,” the district said, and will require excavation and removal of significant portions of the existing play surface to fix the problem. Because the scope is larger than originally anticipated, administrators said the work cannot be completed from this year’s operating funds and must be funded from capital reserves.

District staff explained the change was an accounting and planning step so the district can file the adjusted tentative budget with the county and proceed to the required public hearing. No final county or board action on the specific projects was described beyond submitting the adjusted tentative budget for the public hearing process.

Superintendent Gorman and district administrators framed the adjustment as necessary to reflect the latest bid results and the added playground repair; board members asked no substantive follow-up questions during that discussion. The board packet and county submission were the next steps noted by staff.