Lawrence Township board reviews $88M draft budget, cites preschool expansion and referendum as offsets to levy

Superintendent Dr. Klim and Business Administrator Tom Eldridge on Monday presented a draft 2025–26 budget the district described as roughly an $88 million appropriation and said voters’ March 11 approval of the district referendum and state preschool expansion aid helped reduce the district’s local levy burden.

The presentation placed the budget in the context of district strategic goals and the referendum-funded capital program. "Because of your support, we can move forward with our vision for the future of a district of excellence," Dr. Klim told the board and audience, thanking voters after the referendum passed March 11. Eldridge framed the spending plan as a high-level spending projection: "This is a general overview from probably about a 10,000-foot view," he said, and described the advertised appropriation as "an $88 million, almost $89,000,000 appropriation overall." The pair said salaries, benefits, tuition and transportation make up the vast majority of the proposed spending.

Why it matters: board members and administrators said the referendum will fund school facility projects and that federally and…