Vernon board hears 2026-27 budget presentation; tentative budget recommended with 5.81% levy increase

The Vernon Township Board of Education received a presentation on the district’s 2026–27 preliminary budget from Superintendent Ebony Dominguez and Business Administrator Raymond Slam and subsequently approved the board’s recommended tentative budget and multiple consent items.

Dominguez opened the presentation by saying the budget was shaped by the district’s strategic plan and community input, and that the district serves 3,102 students across six schools. “Every priority in this budget came from this community,” she said, adding the budget aims to protect preschool class caps, reduce kindergarten class size from 21 to 19 by adding a teacher, and expand preschool access.

Slam laid out the district’s financial picture and major cost drivers, reporting that health-care costs had risen sharply last year and that contractual and transportation costs also increased. He told the board the…