Bound Brook board adopts $62.7 million tentative 2025–26 budget, adds staff and modular preschool unit

The Bound Brook Board of Education on Tuesday adopted a tentative $62,731,078 budget for the 2025–26 school year, voting unanimously to move forward with a spending plan that the administration said directs two‑thirds of spending into classrooms while funding new staff and a modular preschool expansion.

Superintendent Dr. Freeman and Business Administrator Michael (Mike) Gorski led a roughly hourlong presentation on the budget before the board took the roll‑call vote. Under the proposal the district’s tentative general fund budget is $58,023,282 with a local general fund tax levy of $14,244,882; the tentative total across funds was listed as $62,731,078. The board approved the budget following a public forum that produced no public comments on the proposal.

The administration emphasized that an unusually large share of the district’s resources go into instruction. "Sixty‑six percent of the funds will go into the classroom in the form of coaching, supplies, technology, professional development," Dr. Freeman said during the presentation. Gorski told the board the district had benefited from increases in state aid: "We're very fortunate," he said, describing a net state aid increase of about $1.8 million for 2025–26.

Why it matters: The budget funds instructional priorities at a time of rising enrollment and rising costs, particularly in special education, bilingual/ESL services and transportation. The administration said the plan…