Holmdel budget presentation details 15 certificated cuts, preschool moved into general fund and house sale to restore reserves

Holmdel Township officials presented a revised 2026'27 budget that includes 15 full-time certificated position reductions, reallocation of the preschool program into the district's regular budget, and use of proceeds from a planned property sale to restore required reserve levels.

In a detailed presentation, a district presenter said the 15 certificated reductions include 11 classroom teacher positions, one instructional coach (elementary literacy), one school counselor, one clinician and one administrator, and that nine of those roles were retained by filling vacated positions through attrition. "We informed any staff who might be impacted on March 30th," the presenter said, noting the district had met both contractual and statutory notification timelines.

The district explained some reductions stemmed from schedule and bargaining changes rather than a decision to eliminate programs. Officials said four classroom-teacher reductions at Village School reduced the need for two half-time related-arts positions (art and physical education) that previously covered teachers' second professional periods. The presenter added that new contract language permitting certificated staff to cover four 25-minute lunch duty periods produced savings that helped negotiate a budget-neutral contract.

Board members raised concerns about the dance program after differing enrollment figures circulated. The presenter clarified there are separate data "buckets": middle-school enrollment is counted by semester and can overlap across course levels, while high-school dance is yearlong. "There is a significant decline in enrollment when students move into the high school," the presenter said, explaining that the high-school dropoff informed the decision to reduce a high-school dance position.

The presentation confirmed a reduction of one elementary counselor position, with district officials emphasizing middle- and high-school counseling staff remain in place. The presenter said a remaining embedded clinician and coordination with elementary guidance staff would continue to provide intensive supports for younger learners.

The district also defended using an outside provider, Effective School Solutions, as an intensive therapeutic option that can, when appropriate, prevent costly out-of-district placements. The presenter said such placements can cost "anywhere between $150,000 and $200,000," and contracting offers an option to keep students in their home schools when clinically appropriate.

On revenues, Mrs. Donnelly (presenting changes from the tentative budget) said the district will keep a $70 million property-tax levy and state aid of just over $5 million. Other revenue rose by $920,000 largely because the county requested the preschool program be moved from an enterprise fund into the regular budget. The administration used a conservative enrollment estimate of 92 preschool students for planning (current enrollment was cited as 95). Mrs. Donnelly said the preschool is expected to be roughly break-even after accounting for salaries and benefits carried into the general fund.

The presenters outlined levy mechanics that produced a net tax-levy increase of about 6.9% for 2026'27, yielding a tax rate of 1.0391 and an illustrative annual tax of $762.10 (about $63.51 per month) on an assessed value of $1,129,951.

Agenda materials include the planned sale of 34 Croffords (referred to in discussion as Lefferts/Addie's house) to the township for just over $1 million. The district intends to add $587,123 from that sale to its undesignated fund balance to reach the statutory requirement and avoid a county corrective action plan; roughly $243,000 would go to capital reserve and about $200,000 to maintenance reserve. The presenters said those reserves provide funds for unplanned infrastructure needs, citing a recent burglar-alarm repair as an example.

The meeting also covered transportation next steps: the transportation coordinator is expected to finalize a courtesy/subscription-bussing eligibility list by Friday, with a family survey to follow midweek next week.

The board did not record a formal final vote in the transcript excerpt provided; the presentation described tentative-to-revised budget changes and identified items on the agenda (including the property sale) that will be acted on in the meeting sequence.

Next steps noted in the presentation: the district will post detailed eligibility and survey materials for courtesy bussing, finalize budget-related agenda actions during the meeting, and apply the house-sale proceeds to meet statutory reserve levels.