Toms River board votes to submit tentative 2025–26 budget amid $22.5M shortfall

The Toms River Regional School District Board of Education voted to submit its tentative 2025–26 budget to the county office after a board member moved approval and a roll call passed the motion.

Board remarks cautioned that the package submitted Wednesday is not final. The board said state guidance and aid decisions remain fluid; the submission is the statutory step that allows county review. In public remarks earlier in the meeting the board described the draft as showing a roughly $22.5 million shortfall after cuts and noted the district is constrained by adequacy rules that currently require a 2% tax levy increase in what the board can present now.

“Right now, all we can present in a budget is to make sure that we have the minimum of what it takes to operate our school year and the mandated 2% tax increase because we are under adequacy,” the board stated during its opening remarks.

Board member Egan moved the motion to submit the tentative budget; Capone seconded. The motion passed on roll-call votes recorded on the record.

The board emphasized the submission is a procedural step and not the district’s final budget, and said further changes could follow depending on state action. A public commenter urged the board to seek taxpayer approval if the state does not provide additional aid to close the gap. The board did not adopt a final levy or tax rate at the meeting; county and state reviews remain part of the process.

Next steps: the county office will review the tentative submission; the board said it will return with further presentations and a second reading of budget material as required by state rules.