Collingswood school leaders submit 2026–27 budget that includes $3.3M in reductions and proposed Garfield Elementary closure

The Collingswood Board of Education approved submission of its proposed 2026–27 budget on March 27 after district leaders said the plan is necessary to address a roughly $3.3 million shortfall driven by rising costs and lower state aid.

Dr. McDowell, the district’s superintendent, told the board the gap is the result of persistent inflation, rising health benefit expenses and fluctuating enrollment. “We do less with less,” Dr. McDowell said, summarizing the hard choices the district faces as it balances operations with limited revenue.

Beth Ann Coleman, the assistant superintendent for business and finance, presented the budget’s numbers. Coleman said keeping current staffing and programming would have required about $4.8 million more in operational spending for 2026–27 and that the district absorbed a $305,000 reduction in one category of state aid. She said the district will withdraw $52,807 from its maintenance reserve this year and that capital reserves total about $136,000. Coleman described the submitted spreadsheet as a balanced budget intended for state review and noted that the district will continue work to translate the high‑level reductions into school‑level impacts.

The budget package that the board voted to submit includes a list of anticipated reductions: substantial cuts to full‑time and part‑time positions across departments, conversion of selected athletics and co‑curriculars to pay‑to‑play, operational line‑item trims, consolidation of the middle and high school campuses and the recommended closure of Garfield Elementary School. The board was told the district plans to close the middle/high wellness center after the federal grant that funded that program was canceled.

Board members pressed administration repeatedly for school‑by‑school dollar amounts and for a clearer breakdown of how proposed cuts translate to saved dollars at each campus. “I don’t know how to vote on anything without understanding what the closure of Garfield Elementary School means to the community — how much are we saving?” one board member said during discussion.

The board approved the motion to submit items 11.01–11.28, which included the 2026–27 budget submission (item 11.09). Roll call recorded several exceptions: one member voted no on the budget submission item and one member abstained on a separate listed item; the remainder voted yes (see ‘Votes at a glance’). Board leadership and administration committed to returning to the board with categorical and school‑level impact detail at the April committee meeting and to wider community engagement in the weeks before the public hearing on April 27.

What happens next: the district will submit the budget spreadsheet to the New Jersey Department of Education for county review and state approval. Administration said it will send a community letter the morning after the meeting and a fuller FAQ and presentation by the end of the week outlining top‑line impacts and the public budget hearing schedule.

The budget as presented and submitted is a proposed plan required for state review; any final changes or final adoption will depend on state feedback and subsequent board votes. The district emphasized that closing a building or selling property are options under consideration but that one‑time proceeds cannot be used to fund recurring operating costs.

Votes at a glance: the board passed the bulk package (items 11.01–11.28) in a roll‑call vote; some members recorded exceptions on item 11.09 (budget submission) and one abstention was recorded on item 11.08. The district will publish a complete vote tally in its official minutes.