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Wall Township board adopts $95.6M 2026–27 budget with 5% tax levy increase
Summary
The Wall Township Board of Education unanimously approved a $95.6 million general fund budget for 2026–27, a 5% tax levy increase (2% statutory cap plus a 3% health-benefit adjustment) that the district said will raise taxes about $248 a year on the average assessed home.
The Wall Township Board of Education voted unanimously April 28 to adopt the district's $95,600,000 general fund budget for the 2026'27 school year.
Business Administrator Brian Smythe, who led the public presentation, said the tax levy increase is 5 percent overall: the 2 percent statutory cap plus a 3 percent health-benefit adjustment tied to rising claims. Smythe said state aid covers roughly 8 percent of the budget and the district projects the average assessed home in Wall Township will see an annual tax increase of about $248 under the adopted levy.
The budget presentation laid out priorities and program-level details, including maintaining current staffing levels, adding two positions, and preserving in-district special services such as the RISE program to reduce costly out-of-district placements. Smythe said salaries and benefits account for about 80 percent of total appropriations and that benefits are the primary driver of the levy increase.
Smythe described the district's self-insured health plan in detail, saying the district expects roughly $8.5 million in claims for the first half of the 2026 fiscal year and $9.75 million for the second half; the presentation also described stop-loss insurance that reimburses costs exceeding $125,000 for an individual case. Smythe told the board the district calculates a premium-equivalent for employee contributions and that remaining self-insured is less costly for Wall than joining the state plan, which he said had a 31 percent rate increase this year.
During a public-comment period, residents pressed for more hard-copy materials and asked for clarifications about health-benefit analysis, claims history and specific line-item details. Smythe and board members responded that the advertised budget and supporting workshop materials were posted to the district website and that employee contribution formulas for the Educators' Health Plan are set by statute or negotiated in collective-bargaining agreements.
Board member Ms. DiGiovanni moved to adopt the budget and Mr. Buffer seconded. A roll-call vote recorded Ms. Adams, Ms. Barbieri, Ms. Bibby, Mr. Buffer, Ms. DiGiovanni, Ms. Lawlor, Mr. Smith, Mr. Ondrack, and Mr. Maliff as voting yes.
The district also outlined capital work funded from reserves and prior-year balances, including site paving, priority work at Old Mill Elementary, front-entrance and athletic-entrance improvements at Wall High School, school signage for the elementary schools, and building-management system upgrades for HVAC efficiency.
Next steps: the board completed the public hearing and adopted the budget at the meeting; administrators said supporting materials and the budget documents remain available on the district website.
