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Bordentown Regional School District presents 2026–27 budget that preserves staffing and expands student supports
Summary
The Bordentown Regional School District superintendent presented a proposed 2026–27 budget that keeps all current staff, adds academic interventionists and mental-health supports, eliminates pay-to-play fees for extracurriculars, budgets safety officers, and funds communications and capital projects; the board was asked to vote on the final budget later in the meeting.
The Bordentown Regional School District superintendent presented the districts proposed 2026–27 budget, saying it preserves current staffing levels while directing new money to academic interventionists, counseling and behavioral supports, and districtwide communication and safety upgrades. The superintendent asked the board for its support when members vote on the final budget.
The presentation summarized the districts planning process, noting state aid figures set in March and subsequent budget development with staff and family input. The superintendent said the budget builds multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), expands academic interventionists "throughout the district at all levels," and funds additional mental-health services and social supports.
On extracurriculars, the superintendent said the budget includes a commitment to eliminate pay-to-play fees for sports and other activities, describing the move as intended to reduce financial barriers to participation and improve equitable access. She said the district will cover those costs within the proposed spending plan.
Security and operations were also highlighted. The superintendent said the budget includes funding to add a special law enforcement officer (SLO) to reach a total of three SLOs to provide coverage across campuses, contingent on city negotiations. The district plans a new district website and adoption of ParentSquare as a unified communications platform, along with online lesson-planning and evaluation systems for staff if the budget is approved.
Capital needs in the proposed budget include phase one of the Clara Barton playground this summer (with phase two planned the following summer) and a roof HVAC project. The superintendent said the roof project is funded through a state grant covering 40% of the cost and that the district budget would cover the remaining 60%.
The superintendent reviewed revenue and spending detail. Per the presentation, roughly 74% of revenue is expected from local property taxes, 16% from state aid, about 4% from debt-service-related sources, about 4% from preschool expansion funds and about 1% from federal sources; the budget uses less than 0.5% of the fund balance. She presented a five-year picture showing state-aid funding down about 17% from a 2023 peak, and noted that the district intends to remain within New Jerseys 2% levy cap. The proposed levy distribution reported in the presentation assigns about 78% of the levy to the township, 19% to the city and 3% to Fieldsboro, based on state-determined property values.
On debt service, the superintendent said the district closed a bond refinance that improves projected savings: "we will be saving roughly $90,000 to $95,000 a year," increasing seven-year savings from an earlier estimate of approximately $550,000 to roughly $660,000; she emphasized this savings affects only the debt-service portion of taxpayers bills.
Expenditure allocations shown in the presentation included about 71% for salaries and benefits, 12% for special education, 9% for facilities, 4% for curriculum and building support, 3% for transportation and 1% for technology and operations.
The superintendent concluded by asking for the boards support when members vote on the final budget. The transcript provided the budget presentation and subsequent discussion, but a final roll-call approving the full 2026–27 budget is not recorded in the provided segments.
