In a hat trick unlikely to bring massive cheers, all three of North Warren Regional’s feeder elementary schools have chosen to raise their respective tax levies for next year’s budget.
Knowlton Township School is the latest area elementary school to approve a tax levy increase, joining Blairstown Elementary School and Frelinghuysen Township School. The Knowlton board has approved a budget for the 25-26 school year that includes a 16% increase in the local tax levy, amounting to an additional $570,484.
The board approved the budget after a mandatory public presentation that was rescheduled to May 5. Due to technical difficulties, the school was unable to produce a copy of its budget presentation until May 21.
The Same River Thrice: Decreased Aid, Rising Costs
Knowlton isn’t alone in facing a budget squeeze. The school’s budget woes are a variation on a theme for local schools: decreased funding aid matched with increased necessary costs.
Like most schools in the region, Knowlton has seen its state aid drop significantly after New Jersey’s school budget revision. The school has seen its state aid slashed by over $1 million since 2018, an amount that represents over 20% of the school’s current budget.
At the same time, essential costs have risen, sometimes by leaps. The single largest cost increase in next year’s budget will go to employee benefits. The state health plan for government workers, including public school teachers, has seen a dramatic increase in premiums.
For Knowlton, that means an additional $177,000 is needed to cover staff benefits. The cost of employee benefits, $990,959, represents 20% of next year’s total budget.
That single massive increase is accompanied by an additional $100,000 increase in tuition costs and a $67,000 increase in transportation costs, both of which are largely dedicated to covering out-of-district placements.
By state law, schools are generally restricted from raising the tax levy beyond 2%. For Knowlton, a 2% tax levy increase would bring in an additional $70,484. That’s barely enough to cover annual salary increases, according to Knowlton Superintendent Jeannine DeFalco.
Schools elsewhere in NJ have chosen to plug their budget gaps by cutting staff positions, sometimes drastically. That’s not an option for Knowlton, DeFalco says.
“Rising enrollment in our preschool needs (requiring an AM and PM session for 25-26) is a positive for us but also a reason that the district can’t afford to lose staffing at the current time,” DeFalco wrote in an email. “No positions were cut and we are operating with a no fluff budget with more kids coming through the district.”
Knowlton has seen a steady increase in its full-time student enrollment, from 152 students in the 22-23 school year to an estimated 173 next year.
To fill its budget shortfall, Knowlton has chosen to draw on its banked cap. This is a school’s ability to raise the local tax levy beyond the usual 2% limit, though a school’s leeway to do so is restricted by a rolling three-year maximum. Knowlton’s 25-26 budget will use $425,220 of its banked cap.
Meanwhile, Some Honors
With the budget decided, Knowlton continued its business of education.
At its May 19 Board of Education meeting, two people present received honors for their service.
One was Board Vice President Rhonda Moritz, whom the New Jersey School Board Association formally recognized for a decade of service to the board.
The other, somewhat reluctantly, was Superintendent DeFalco. The school’s sign congratulates DeFalco as Warren County’s Superintendent of the Year. At the meeting, DeFalco shared that she had been selected for the honor by her peers.
DeFalco also mentioned that she was unsure who had placed the sign there. Meanwhile, Vice Principal Dana Carroll carefully avoided eye contact.
To see Knowlton’s user-friendly budget for 25-26, visit the school’s website.
Chip O'Chang is an educator, fiction writer, and lifelong resident of New Jersey. He has also written for My Life Publications and NJ Indy. He lives in the NJ Skylands with his partner, two cats, and and a bearded dragon.
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
