JACKSON – School Board members introduced a tentative budget during a recent Board meeting. The proposed spending plan that features a 1.2% decrease will have its public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on April 30 at the Fine Arts Center, Jackson Memorial High School.
Business Administrator Dan Baginski outlined the budget process and identified several significant factors impacting finances. They include the redistricting and restructuring plan, closing the Rosenauer and McAuliffe schools and selling school property, the decommissioning and removal of school trailers, a loan from the state and a state assigned fiscal monitor.
“This budget process is anything but typical. All of these (factors) present a serious challenge to the school district,” Baginski remarked. He said the budget was developed in a “fiscally responsible manner” to meet the state requirement to propose a balanced budget that will provide students the highest quality education and maintain qualities that make Jackson special.
He noted that a driving factor for the budget was student enrollment. Enrollment projections suggest a 3.7% decrease in pre-kindergarten to 12th grade student enrollment for the next school year. “The spending plan for the school district includes $147,826,930 in expenses. That overall reflects less than a 1% increase from the 2024-2025 school year.”
“The school mergers resulted in a savings of approximately $7 million. Salaries alone would have increased by slightly more than 3% next year. Even though you are seeing a decrease… had it just rolled over there would have been a 3% increase and health benefits were projected to increase by 17%.”
Baginski said due to the restructuring/redistricting plan being implemented “we’ve been able to keep that (health benefits increase) to a 11% increase.”
The total budget is approximately $170 million, a reduction of $2 million from the current year, a 1.2% decrease. The spending plan was said to protect class sizes and instructional programs and fulfills obligations for school district contracts.
“This is a budget that is fiscally responsible and is putting us on a path forward for sustainability,” Baginski added.
“This is a tentative budget. There is time for comments and input as we refine the budget as we move forward to the April 30 Board meeting where we will present a budget for the Board to vote on,” Superintendent Nicole Pormilli said.
She noted that the school district’s drastic drop in state aid from New Jersey was the result of fiscal hardship for the last seven years. “We’ve advocated for the last seven years to fix this.”
Restructure Plan
Superintendent Pormilli spoke about the school district’s ongoing restructuring process. “We have formed committees and we still have a lot of work to do and decisions to make but nevertheless we are moving forward and we will continue to work hard and make difficult but good decisions to unite our district.”
She noted that during April’s Board meeting more information will be shared about some of the bigger decisions that need to be made. Officials announced earlier in the year that it was consolidating its two high schools and closing one of its middle schools to cut costs of operation.
Officials said there will be appointments of three principals for the 2025-2026 school year.
High School Rebranding Committee
The High School Rebranding Committee is made up of students and staff who met to discuss the high school’s name, colors, and mascot. To ensure inclusive input, a survey will be sent to students in the coming weeks.
High School Merging Committee
The High School Merging Committee held its first meeting and a large assembly that drew 600 students – 300 from Jackson Memorial and 300 from Jackson Liberty. The gathering was facilitated by Mike Smith, a Stanford-certified life coach and student-centered facilitator, the session focused on creating a positive and unified vision for the future.
Smith shared his personal story and led students through activities designed to address their fears and concerns while emphasizing their power to shape the school’s new narrative and culture. Staff from both high schools participated in the event, making this an empowering first step toward merging the two schools.
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