$190M School Budget Introduced In East Brunswick, Includes Tax Hike

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — The East Brunswick Board of Education introduced the tentative 2023-2024 budget for the school district during the last meeting.

Business Administrator Bernardo Giuliana said that the tentative budget proposed for the next school year is $190 million. And the proposed tax levy for the township is 1.7 percent.

The district is looking at about $9.2 million in expenditure in 2024, with increases seen in transportation, salaries, facilities maintenance, health benefits etc. The increase in cost is mainly due to inflation and rising costs of goods and services.

Here's the tentative expenditure breakdown for 2024:

• Transportation: $4.03M
• Salaries/contracts/new staff: $2.1M
• OOD Tuition: $0.80M
• Projected health benefits: $0.76M
• Facilities maintenance: $0.59M
• Charter schools: $0.50M
• Related services, therapeutic counseling: $0.46M

The school district will see an increase of $6.5 million in state aid for the next school year. But with projected expenses at $9.3 million, the differential needs to be made up, Giuliana said. More: East Brunswick Schools To Gain $6.5M In State Aid Next Year

Superintendent Victor Valeski told Patch that although the district has been seeing an increase in state aid the past few years, it is mostly “catching up on aid it did not receive previously.”

The proposed budget will also help keep class sizes steady.

In the coming years, the district will focus on dealing with the aftereffects of the pandemic on students, namely mental health issues and social-emotional issues.

“We are no longer just an educational institution. We are an educational institution and a service provider, and we will continue to be as long as we exist because this recovery will not be complete,” Valeski said.

“We will continue to invest in staff and students. That requires money and commitment not just from this Board but future Boards.”

Outside of pandemic recovery, the district is also focused on programs and services offered to students. This includes the expansion of schools and the addition of TCUs.

Although the school did receive non-recurring COVID-19 grants, the funds were “restricted” and meant to be used for specific purposes.

Here’s where the monies were spent:

Last year, the district spent around $7 million in staff salaries, health insurance, transportation, facilities maintenance charter schools and others.

The aid received from the state went towards these expenses and the BOE did not ask taxpayers for more money last year.

“In fact the debt service fund which pays the mortgage, went down by $1 million,” Giuliana said.

Board member Jeffery Winston, who is part of the budget planning committee thanked everyone involved in helping with the budget.

“This is not an easy process for anybody involved,” Winston said.

“I look forward to coming to the point where we all agree that this is what’s best in proceeding with the district.”

A public hearing is scheduled for May 4 and the final budget is expected to be adopted on May 11.

You can watch the BOE meeting here.

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com