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Millburn sees $112 million operating budget baseline; officials warn of health‑cost pressures and possible $300,000 state‑aid cut
Summary
Administrators presented an initial budget picture Jan. 26: enrollment 4,454, personnel costs about 82% of expenditures, $112,000,000 operating budget cited, planning assumptions include a 2% tax‑levy cap, ~7% state aid, a likely $300,000 state‑aid reduction and health‑benefit increases near 25%.
District administrators delivered the first public presentation of the 2026 budget process at the Jan. 26 Millburn Township Board of Education meeting and set a calendar for next steps.
Presenters said the district's October 15 enrollment stood at 4,454 students and reported roughly 891 full‑time‑equivalent staff; they described an operating budget figure cited in the presentation of $112,000,000 to support instruction, personnel, facilities and transportation.
Officials said roughly 82% of projected expenditures are personnel costs and that the largest revenue source is the local tax levy ("close to 90%" of revenues), with state aid representing about 7% and budgeted fund balance about 2.1 percent. Administrators noted assumptions being used to prepare the plan: budgeting to the 2% tax‑levy cap, potential use of a health‑benefit waiver that permits exceeding 2%, and a planning assumption of roughly a $300,000 state‑aid reduction that will be confirmed after the governor's budget address.
"As you saw earlier this year...we were part of the state plan; their increases to us were going to be about 28% ... we moved out of the state plan, but that increase is still 25%," the presenter said, summarizing projected health‑benefit pressure on next year's budget.
Key calendar dates presented: tentative budget approval is scheduled for March 9 (to be submitted to the county for review), a public hearing is planned for May 4 with possible board adoption that night, and a final statutory deadline to adopt by May 14 if needed.
Presenters described broad budget "buckets"—curriculum and instruction, personnel (the largest share), capital and maintenance, technology and transportation—and noted capital projects and program priorities that will be considered in subsequent committee discussions.
Board members and the public were invited to upcoming budget committee meetings and a May public hearing; administrators indicated more detailed presentations and recommendation materials will follow as state aid and benefit‑cost estimates firm up.
