TOMS RIVER – As officials build the school district’s budget, they are facing low state aid, increasing expenses, and a student body with rapidly evolving needs.
Superintendent Michael Citta said at the beginning of the month that there is still a $22.3 million hole in the 2025-2026 school budget. They will continue to work with the state to try to resolve this.
“You cannot cut $22 million from this budget,” he said. There’s nothing that can be raised with a referendum by law.
The current year had a similar hole in the budget, which is being filled with the sale of an office building the district owns at 1144 Hooper Avenue.
Upper administration positions are being dissolved in an attempt to make cuts in places that students will be impacted the least, Citta said. There are no anticipated cuts in co-curricular activities.
The main problem is that the state reduced aid to the district for seven years. The law that changed the funding formula has expired, but the damage is done. Toms River actually received a small increase in aid for next year but that is not enough after cumulative cuts, officials said.
The district’s population is changing, and that’s impacting the budget, Citta explained. Comparing the 2017-2018 school year to today’s statistics, the number of students dropped from 15,623 to 14,579. Those who are learning the English language increased from 171 to 985. Those on the free and reduced lunch program increased from 4,511 to 6,589. The special education population increased from 2,310 to 3,210.
The state aid dropped from $63.8 million to $29.8 million.
Assistant Superintendent Pat Thomas said that there will be three new autism classes in 2025-26. The cost for students with special services increased from $50.8 million to $56.8 million from this year to next.
There is also a growing need for nurses to be on buses, for example, if a student has a seizure, he said.
District Business Administrator William Doering said that insurance costs are increasing by 9.65%, or $5.6 million, but this is less than the state health plan which is going up by 14%.
The cost for utilities increased by $344,043, he said. This would have been worse if the district hadn’t installed many energy efficient upgrades over the last few years.
Another increase is the aid in lieu of transportation. Districts must either provide transportation for private school students living in the geographical confines of the district, or pay the family in lieu of busing. Since 480 students who qualify for this joined the district this year (for a total of 3,334 students), they are expecting another 500 next year.
What most people don’t realize about the aid in lieu program, is that the state reimburses the district for 90% of this, Doering explained. However, the state uses the population figure from October 15 to reimburse the district at the end of the year. If any kids join the district after October 15, the school is paying the parents and the state isn’t reimbursing them.
These details were shared at a Citizens Budget Advisory Meeting. The Budget Hearing is April 30 at 5:45 p.m. in the media center at High School North. It can also be viewed online at trschools.com/Administration/boe
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