Egg Harbor Township board approves preliminary $209 million budget submission while planning staff cuts
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Summary
The Egg Harbor Township Board approved submission of a preliminary $209 million 2026-27 budget and will present it at a public hearing April 28, while administrators outlined staffing reductions that could remove roughly six positions by July 1 to close a remaining $2 million gap.
Egg Harbor Township's Board of Education approved submission of a preliminary 2026-27 budget that administration said totals just under $210 million and set a public hearing for April 28 as it continues work to narrow an estimated $2 million deficit.
Business administrator Mr. Smith told the board that "our total budget next next year, pretty large, right? Just under $210,000,000, for the entire district," and walked members through the major revenue and expense drivers, including a delayed state aid payment received March 12 and rising ratables that helped avoid a rate increase.
The board was presented three options but was told the administration favored holding the tax rate steady while recognizing a 1.98% increase in the tax levy driven by higher ratables. "So if the board thinks about that, if you go from 2 to 3, it's 845,000 in new revenue," Mr. Smith said.
Why it matters: the preliminary submission authorizes the district to file required documents with the county and advertise a public hearing; any line-item adjustments or reductions must be shared at the April 28 public hearing before final adoption. Board members repeatedly pressed administration for detail about the largest expense categories and the process for making later changes.
Administration outlined how the district reduced a status-quo $10.7 million shortfall through ratables, additional state aid, non-personnel reductions and accounting moves to lower the gap to about $2 million. That plan included moving some employees to federally funded titles, shifting projects into capital reserves and trimming non-personnel costs.
Personnel remains the most politically sensitive lever: Mr. Smith said the budgetary exercise began with proposals to cut 38 positions and, after successive updates, the list was reduced to 26 positions under consideration; "6.84 would be the total number of current staff who would not be with us on July 1," he said, describing the estimate of positions that could be eliminated rather than a headcount of individuals.
Several board members voiced reluctance about reducing staff. One member said they would "support this preliminary budget tonight, but I think it's important that we work on the 6 reduction in force positions between now and April," urging further review to prioritize non-personnel savings.
Public input at the meeting urged the board to preserve positions that generate grant revenue; Susan Henley, an association leader, noted the district's local grant program and said the work of teacher grant-writers can be hard to replace.
What happens next: with preliminary approval, the district will submit the budget to the county office and hold the required public hearing on April 28. The board can consider adjustments between now and final adoption; administration said it will continue to refine staffing and non-personnel decisions and provide updates to the public.
Ending: The board approved the action to submit the preliminary budget and directed administration to keep the board informed of staffing and spending decisions as the April public hearing approaches.
