SOMERS POINT — Faced with rising health care, labor and facilities costs, coupled with dwindling state aid, the Somers Point School District cut 15 staff positions and raised the tax levy 5.49 percent.
The $19.9 million budget for 2025-26, adopted May 1, calls for a tax levy of $12.1 million and a tax rate increase of 4.2 cents to $1.12 per $100 of assessed value. The owner of a $300,000 home would see an annual increase of $126 to $2,415 in local school taxes.
Meanwhile, Mainland Regional High School adopted its budget the same day, calling for a tax rate increase of 8 cents to 84.56 cents per $100, or about $240 more on a $300,000 home.
City Council also raised taxes, 1.98 cents this year on a budget of just more than $21 million. Under the plan, the tax rate would increase to $1.14 per $100, or $1,140 for each $100,000 of assessed value.
City taxpayers are faced with a total increase in local school, regional school and municipal taxes of 14 cents, or about $420 on a $300,000 home.
Interim Business Administrator Mark Leung said the staffing wish list included five new special education teachers. Those positions were first on the chopping block.
“Unfortunately, further cuts were necessary to balance the budget,” he said. “Fortunately, resignations and retirements account for six of the cut positions, saving jobs.”
Six positions were for full-time substitute teachers with benefits who can still serve in per diem positions.
The 15 positions included teachers, substitutes and paraprofessionals from clerical to custodial, “and it still wasn’t enough.”
Additionally, the district postponed or cancelled capital projects and cut supply lines by 20 percent, then had to trim another $100,000.
The local school budget consists of a general fund of $16.29 million, or 82 percent, a special revenue fund of $2.7 million, or 13.5 percent, and a debt service fund of $903,000, or 4.5 percent.
The general fund includes the tax levy of $12.1 million, state aid of $2.3 million, fund balance of $1.45 million. The tax levy makes up 74.5 percent.
The special revenue fund is restricted for preschool, special education and out-of-district placements, while the debt service fund pays for capital projects.
The district has been struggling with its budgets for years, largely due to a dwindling supply of state aid. Under the Student Funding Reform Act of 2018, the district lost more than $4 million to just $2 million for 2024-25. It saw a loss of another $65,000 for 2025-26.
“Despite all these efforts to balance the budget and provide our students with the programs and opportunities they deserve, we are still more than $1 million below adequacy,” Leung said. “That means we are doing more with less than the state thinks we need to educate our students.”
Last year, facing more than $1 million in aid cuts, the district was able to raise the tax levy 8.5 percent and tax rate 8.78 cents while using the additional monies to fund three teachers, basic supplies, technology and capital projects while cutting nine staff positions.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation that established the Stabilized School Budget Aid Grant Program to provide funds equal to 45 percent of a district’s state aid reduction for 2024-2025. The bill appropriated $44.7 million to support the program.
In addition to providing supplementary aid, the legislation allowed certain districts experiencing reductions to request increases in their adjusted property tax levies in excess of the 2 percent cap to as much as 9.9 percent.
The district’s budget, adopted April 27, already had exceeded the 2 percent levy cap through the use of banked cap and a health care adjustment, calling for a tax levy increase of 4.45 percent.
After Murphy signed the bill package, the district received $510,957 in stabilization aid and was able to raise another $429,550 through the increased taxation.
The amended budget included a tax levy of $12,249,606, up $929,829 from 2023-24, and a tax rate increase of 8.788 cents to $1.075.
The owner of an average assessed home ($212,587) paid $2,286 in local school taxes, up $203 from 2023-24.
That stabilization aid was not available this year, putting the district in a $510,000 hole. In addition, ARP funding and carryover of $145,000 no longer was available.
To make matters worse, health care costs are rising 20 percent and electricity 17 percent.
At the same time, enrollment continues its downward trajectory, dropping from 1,204 students in 2009 to 614 in 2024, a 49 percent decrease in 15 years.
Those numbers do not include preschool enrollment of 80 students. The district is able to continue offering full-day preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
