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West Essex board adopts $52.1 million 2026–27 budget; activity fee rises
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Summary
The West Essex Regional School District board approved a $52,099,496 2026–27 budget that keeps all staff and programs, funds five classroom renovations and safety upgrades, and raises the student activity fee; the measure passed on a roll-call vote recorded in the meeting transcript.
The West Essex Regional School District Board of Education on April 27 approved a $52,099,496 budget for the 2026–27 school year that officials said preserves current staff, academic offerings and extracurricular activities while funding classroom renovations and security and communications upgrades.
Board Chair (identified by role in the transcript) moved to adopt the budget in a single motion; roll-call responses recorded in the transcript included affirmative votes from 'Miss Rondroy,' 'Miss Cristal,' 'Miss DeGiovanni,' 'Miss Calderon' and 'Miss Watkins.' The motion was recorded as approved in the meeting audio/transcript.
In a presentation to the board, a staff presenter summarized the budget breakdown: a general fund of $51,389,533, a special‑revenue fund of $242,000 and a debt‑service fund of $467,963, yielding the $52,099,496 total. The presenter said the package maintains all district positions and programs and funds five high‑school classroom renovations that include asbestos abatement, flooring, ceilings, lighting and drywall work. The presenter also said the district will withdraw $625,000 from capital reserve for projects including bidirectional radio antennas and cellular‑coverage installations to address indoor 'dead spots.' A maintenance reserve withdrawal of $150,000 was also listed.
The presenter described revenue sources including local levy, state aid and other receipts. The tax levy increase was described as 2.5% (the presenter said this was the district's lowest in Essex County this year). The presenter said state aid rose by 6% and that the district expects roughly $242,000 in federal grant revenue contingent on future applications. The presentation also identified expense increases that affected the budget: health‑benefit costs were described as up by 16% and prescription costs up by 55%, with excess insurance increases and other cost pressures cited.
The board approved a modest raise in the student activity fee: an increase of $25 per student. The presentation listed the new amounts as $175 per high‑school student and $150 per middle‑school student. The presenter also cited a family cap but the transcript records that the family cap figure was stated as "$3.50," which appears inconsistent with the per‑student figures given and was not clarified on the record; the budget document on the district website should be consulted for the official family-cap amount.
The presenter said the district will use a portion of its budgeted fund balance to balance the budget and cited approximately $6.9 million in other revenue sources for the coming year. The presentation reiterated that debt‑service costs are declining slightly in the package presented.
The chair noted that a detailed presentation on a planned fall 2026 bond referendum will be given at the board's May 11 meeting in the high‑school auditorium and streamed on the district's YouTube channel.
Votes and related consent motions on buildings and grounds, personnel (including the approved resignation/retirement of a guidance counselor, Crystal Tremaroli, effective 06/30/2026), curriculum and miscellaneous items were addressed later in the meeting as consent items and were recorded as approved in the transcript roll calls.
The board closed the budget action by directing the standard posting and filing requirements for budget adoption; next steps identified on the record included routine administrative follow‑up and a community outreach presentation on the referendum schedule.
The board adjourned at 8:45 p.m.
