Cherry Hill School Board Adopts Tentative Budget: See What's Next

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The Cherry Hill Board of Education unanimously approved the 2026/2027 tentative budget on Wednesday night amidst a whirlwind of concerns over tax rate hikes and job cuts.

"There's just no other way to square this circle," board member Miriam Stern said.

Due to a collection of outside factors and a reduction in state funding, Cherry Hill is facing a gap that they are planning to address by, among other things, layoffs and a heightened tax levy for the community.

An influx of viewers piled in online and in the Arthur Lewis Administration Building to relay their concerns and hear the results of the night's vote.

One speaker suggested sponsorships for sports teams and fields as a way to generate revenue.

"My biggest question," another resident, Kim Gallagher of Cherry Hill, asked, "is if we can expect a three percent cut every year until we meet whatever the state decides is our acceptable funding, who's to say we're not just going to see a seven percent increase and $15 million cuts every year?"

The district has a deadline of Friday to submit its tentative proposal to the county superintendent. From there, a public hearing and final adoption will be held on April 28.

"I look at tonight as a starting point," board member Bridget Palmer said. "It's our job as a board to work closely with administration to make sure when we go to final adoption next month, it is a budget that centers our students, centers the quality of education, and is something that we can all live with and look ourselves in the mirror and go to sleep at night knowing it's the best possible scenario."

The Cherry Hill Public Schools Board of Education held a special meeting on Thursday to discuss a tentative budget overview after learning they would be allocated three percent, or $860,000, less in federal funding.

This is the third school year in a row that Cherry Hill has received a lesser allocation than the year prior, amounting to an $8.6 million loss.

On Thursday, Board leaders lined out other drivers of rising costs such as an estimated $10 million hike in employee health coverage, transportation contract growth, special education costs, and regular contractual salary raises.

The two percent tax levy cap also limits the amount New Jersey school districts can obtain from local revenue growth on an annual basis.

In order to combat the deficit, the Board proposed a 7.4 percent tax levy hike to garner around $14.8 million in additional funding.

After subtracting contributions from a Debt Service Fund, this decreases to 6.76 percent and amounts to around $420 in annual property tax increases for the owner of a home that is assessed at the township's average of $227,000.

Another $14.5 million is needed, and will include $8 million coming from non-personnel spending and $6.5 million in staff reductions.

While the $12.4 billion towards school aid is an increase over 2025/2026, Cherry Hill is one of the 167 of the 574 public school districts that saw a reduction as part of Governor Mikie Sherrill's larger goal for consolidation and more shared services.

RELATED COVERAGE: $6.5M In Layoffs, Tax Increase Planned To Close Cherry Hill School Budget Gap

HAVE A STORY IDEA OR NEWS TO SHARE? Contact Editor Eddie Callahan at edward.callahan@patch.com to connect with Patch in your area.