High Point board adopts $18.43 million budget after superintendent outlines state-aid shortfalls

Superintendent Dr. Britt told the High Point Regional High School Board on April 29 that the district has managed roughly $2.75 million in state-aid reductions over recent years and is proposing a 2025–26 budget that responds to rising fixed costs and student needs. "You might as well just burn it for fuel," he said, describing the difficulty of trimming discretionary items after years of cuts.

The proposed general-fund levy the board authorized to submit is $18,427,865. Dr. Britt said the district’s overall budget would increase modestly (presented as about a 1.5% increase in total spending) while the tax levy increase for residents would be about 3.23% in large part because of an 11% rise in the district’s health-insurance costs and other nondiscretionary expenses such as special-education tuition and transportation.

Why it matters: Board members were shown a breakdown of expenditures that indicated roughly 68–70% of the budget is fixed on salaries and benefits, leaving little discretionary room to absorb multi-million-dollar reductions in state aid. The superintendent highlighted several pressure points: increases in special-education out-of-district tuition charges (including back-billing practices that can create large one-time charges), the cost of transporting students across the district’s geographically large attendance area, and rising health-benefit rates.

Details presented and board action: Dr. Britt cited the district’s use of fund balance, tuition revenue from sending districts (he flagged $1.3 million in anticipated tuition from Montague for fiscal 2026) and conservative levy increases as tools the district has used to maintain programs. He also described the district’s participation in a pooled insurance arrangement (the School Health Insurance Fund, or SHIFT) that moderates year-to-year swings in premiums.

At the meeting the board moved and approved the proposed 2025–26 school budget and associated resolutions. The clerk conducted a roll-call vote on finance items and the budget; members on record responding were Miss Schuman, Miss Taliesin, Mister Vanstone, Miss Diaz, Miss Wise, Miss Longberg, Miss Skoll and Mister Dunn (all recorded "Yes"). The motion carried and the board authorized the secretary to submit the tentative budget to the county superintendent.

What the vote does and what’s next: Adoption tonight authorizes the district to advertise and file a tentative budget with the county office; any hearings or final adoption steps will follow statutory timelines. The board’s action does not itself change state aid levels or the underlying funding formula, which the superintendent said remains opaque to many districts.

Context and caveats: The superintendent also referenced ongoing state–federal matters concerning grant conditions; he said the NJDOE had advised districts not to sign a USDOE document under negotiation. The figures and characterizations in this article come from the district presentation and the board’s readbacks during the April 29 meeting; specific line-item details were presented in attachments and will be part of the tentative budget submission.

The board’s meeting continued with other routine business, including approval of personnel and contract items and further board announcements.