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Little Egg Harbor Board advances $27M tentative budget and recommends 9.9% tax-levy increase
Summary
Administrators presented a recommended $27 million tentative 2025–26 budget and asked the board to set a tax‑levy amount built on a 9.9% increase plus banked cap to close a revenue gap driven by falling state aid and an 18% projected rise in health‑benefit costs; the board advanced the tentative filing and approved related finance items with some abstentions.
Administrators presented the Little Egg Harbor Township Board of Education’s tentative 2025–26 budget — about $27 million — and asked the board to approve a resolution setting the amount to be raised in taxes for the county filing. The administration recommended seeking a 9.9% tax-levy increase plus use of the district’s banked cap to address a multi-year decline in state aid and sharply rising mandatory costs.
The presentation said the district’s local tax levy now comprises roughly 61% of revenue, while state aid comprises about 28%. Administration figures cited a decline in state aid from roughly $9.2 million to $7.7 million over four years, a loss of about $1.5 million. Presenters also highlighted a projected 18% increase in employee health‑benefit rates and estimated total district health‑benefit costs near $5.87 million; salaries and benefits together were shown to account for about 78% of appropriations.
Officials displayed the local-levy math the board would be asked to set for the tentative filing; administration numbers showed a local levy near $16,621,570 under the recommended tax-cap request. The administration noted the State Department of Education had not yet issued final guidance on the tax-cap formula and emphasized that the tentative filing can be revised before final adoption in late April.
Board members pressed for more detailed line-item comparisons and historical data. Several members asked for scenario analyses showing the budget outcome without a banked-cap increase and requested clarity on how a higher levy this year would change the base for future levies. Administration said many cost drivers are outside local control — citing health insurance claim experience, energy and transportation costs — and warned that, absent revenue changes, the district could face staff reductions, larger class sizes and reduced services.
During roll-call action on grouped finance items that included the tentative-budget filing, the board approved the recommended motions; the administration reiterated that the filing tonight is tentative and that final adoption is scheduled for April 29, when the board may revise revenue or appropriation lines depending on state guidance.
What happens next: the administration will post materials and outreach instructions and has contacted state legislators; the board and administration encouraged the public to contact lawmakers about restoring state aid. Final budget adoption remains subject to county review and the board’s later action.
