Middletown BOE To Approve 21/22 Budget This Thursday

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Middletown Board of Education will hold a virtual meeting this Thursday, March 25 at 7:00 p.m. There is still a regularly scheduled Middletown BOE meeting Tuesday night, March 23.

Update: The BOE approved the budget at their regular voting meeting Tuesday night. The March 25 meeting has been cancelled.

This will be a special voting meeting to approve the 2021-2022 tentative budget. As Patch reported, Middletown schools are slated to receive $14.5 million for the 21/22 school year from the state Department of Education, a seven percent drop in funding as school enrollment has dropped by about 325 students this year. Many Middletown parents put their children in private school due to the pandemic and school shutdowns.

"We have been building our 2021-2022 budget since the fall with an anticipated decrease in state aid, however, the reduction was $121,000 more than expected," schools superintendent Mary Ellen Walker previously told Patch. "This is likely due to our decrease in enrollment this year of approximately 325 students."

The number of students attending Middletown schools has steadily shrunk over time, a trend that started before the pandemic.

Additionally, a new health insurance plan for teachers has also increased the district's costs.

"Our proposed budget for next year is also being negatively impacted by the implementation of the new NJ Educators Health Plan," said Walker on March 3, referring to a new health insurance plan for NJ teachers, or teachers who are members of the teachers' union, the NJEA.

"While there are some additional funding sources and operational savings available related to the pandemic, these are not recurring revenues and are not long-term solutions to the continued reductions in state aid that will be imposed on Middletown Township public schools," continued Walker.

Thursday night's meeting will be conducted virtually using the Zoom conferencing platform. The meeting will be open to the public. The Zoom meeting code will be shared prior to the start of the meeting.

The meeting will also be live streamed on YouTube and that stream code will be shared before the meeting begins. Those attending the meeting via Zoom will have the opportunity to comment during the public portion of the meeting by requesting to participate by utilizing the "Raise Hand" feature on their Zoom attendee dashboard. Those viewing the YouTube stream may have their comments or questions read into the record by first entering a request to participate into the live chat field, followed by their comment.

Additionally, members of the public may email their comments to boardmeeting@middletownk12.org. If you choose to enter your comment via YouTube or email, please include your name and home address.

Formal Action Will Be Taken

Related: Middletown Schools To Get 7 Percent Less Funding From Trenton

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