Tax Decrease, No Staff Cuts Proposed In Hillsborough School 2023-24 Budget

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Despite losing $913,103 in state aid, Hillsborough Township School officials were able to present a proposed $139,869,347 budget for 2023-24 that did not cut any staff or programs and is decreasing taxes.

"Hillsborough lost more money. And more money than we anticipated losing," said Superintendent Michael Volpe at the Monday night Board of Education(BOE) meeting. "And that's why I am especially proud of this budget… I don't want to be cutting staff. I don't want to be cutting programs. We worked really hard to look at that."

However, Volpe said the yearly state aid cuts will eventually take a serious toll on the district.

"I can't promise that every year if this is the direction we keep going in... If we keep going in a direction where we are going to be continuously losing state funding that something is going to have to give eventually," Volpe said.

The Hillsborough School District is set to lose $913,103 in state aid — a decrease of over 4 percent — under aid figures for the 2023-24 school year announced by the New Jersey Department of Education on Thursday. Read More: Hillsborough Schools To Lose 913K In State Aid Next Year

The loss in state aid is a yearly occurrence that continues to hurt the district. Last year, the district lost $1.4 million in aid. Read More: Hillsborough Struggles To Balance School Budget After Cut In State Aid

However, Senator Andrew Zwicker, Assemblyman Roy Freiman, and Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer (all from the 16th legislative district) were able to present a check in the amount of $1 million to the district after lobbying with the state for additional funding. Read More: $1M Awarded To Hillsborough Schools Solely For Infrastructure Spending

Freiman, who also lives in Hillsborough, voiced his dismay over the lack of state funding at the BOE meeting on Monday.

"That is unacceptable to us. It is unacceptable that the Hillsborough School District is seeing a decrease year over year in funding from the state," said Freiman. "This year alone there is 800 million more dollars going directly to school aid yet Hillsborough schools is the only one in Somerset County and one of 150 across the state that are not seeing a year-over-year increase."

"I am not taking this lying down. I will advocate in every single way that I can to help get more funding for the township of Hillsborough and our public schools as long as I am here as superintendent," said Volpe.

Proposed 2023-24 Budget

The total amount of the proposed budget for 2023-24 amounts to $139,869,347. This is an increase of $2,391,283 from the 2022-23 budget.

For an average homeowner in Hillsborough with a home assessed at $496,597, they would see a tax decrease of $346 per year or $29 per month.

For an average homeowner in Millstone with a home assessed at $373,556, they would see a tax decrease of $627 per year or $52 per month.

Business Administrator Gerald Eckert said the district had extensive savings by switching its healthcare provider to Horizon. Building allocations were also reduced to balance the budget.

Additionally, the district is using $500,000 from the maintenance reserve and $1 million from the capital reserve to bring the cost of the budget down.

The four biggest drivers of the budget include:

• 80 percent goes to employees for salaries and benefits
• 7 percent goes to transportation including fuel and supplies
• 4 percent for buildings and grounds.
• 3 percent for special education

The budget also includes adding special education teachers, new expenditures in technology for things such as intercoms and projectors, a band trailer, and 6 new school buses and 4 new vans.

Additionally, money is being budgeted for roof repairs at Woodfern School, a drainage project at Hillsborough High School and auditorium lighting and sound upgrades.

The final budget hearing and vote will be at the April 24 BOE meeting.

Watch the full budget presentation below. (It begins around 6:30):

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