Secaucus School District And Town Both Seek 7 Percent Tax Increases

SECAUCUS, NJ — Brace yourself, Secaucus property owners: The town and the school district both want seven-percent increases in taxes this year.

This was revealed at the joint public meeting of the town and Secaucus school board Thursday night, held in the high school PAC. It was Mayor Mike Gonnelli who convened the meeting, so "everything could be discussed in public," the mayor said.

If both tax increases get approved, the average assessed Secaucus home will pay about $415 more in taxes this year. However, that is just the average assessed home; some homes in town will pay more than that. Some homes will pay less.

Also, Hudson County taxes will increase this year as well, but the county didn't say by how much yet.

At the meeting, interim superintendent Dr. Mark Toback revealed the Secaucus school district has a $2-million budget deficit.

To plug the deficit, the school district will ask homeowners to pay 7.2 percent more in the school tax levy. That works out to be about $170 more per average assessed home per year, according to the budget presentation the school district presented Thursday night: 4.files.edl.io/9f70/04/30/26/214107-7624fcde-d1d7-415b-8c6e-88fc3518816a.pdf

The tax increase would actually be higher if there weren't so many hotels and industry in town, which offset the tax burden on homeowners, said Gonnelli.

The school board will be asked to approve the proposed tax increase at their meeting next Thursday, May 7.

Similarly, the town of Secaucus will ask the Council to approve a seven-percent increase to the town tax levy. That works out to be about $245 more per year to the average assessed home in Secaucus. The town had a zero percent tax increase last year, said Gonnelli.

$170 + $245 = $415 more per year. Again, some homes will pay more. Some will pay less.

The town will ask the council to approve this at their public budget hearing on May 27, said town administrator Gary Jeffas.

The Secaucus school district plans an additional 4-percent tax increase for the 2027-'28 school year, and another 4-percent increase the year after that. (See page 8.)

There will also be cuts in the Secaucus school district to save money, said Toback.

This is all part of a three-year plan Toback presented Thursday night to fix the district's finances. (See page 8.) Toback said the Secaucus school district is in "a budget crisis."

If the school board approves his three-year plan, it will bring in $6.6 million for the district. Academic and athletic programs will not have to be cut, staffing will be kept stable and class sizes will be kept as small as possible, promised Toback.

"Without (the tax increase), there will be significant program reductions and staffing impacts," Toback said.

The costs to run a school district and town have skyrocketed, both Gonnelli and the superintendent said. Staff salaries, healthcare costs and energy costs to heat and air condition schools have all skyrocketed.

"If you follow the news, it seems like every day there's a new school district announcing budget cuts, layoffs and significant tax increases," Toback said.

"Look at Montclair, look at Hackensack," said Gonnelli. "It's happening all over the state."

"Nothing goes down," said Jeffas. "How much did your electric bill go up this year? More than double? Imagine that for the town. "

Enrollment is down in the Secaucus school district, which means reduced state aid from Trenton. Secaucus schools are also funded the least out of all the school districts in Hudson County, Toback said, pointing to page 6 of his budget presentation.

On top of that, the Secaucus school district was walloped with a 30 percent increase in healthcare premiums for staff in 2026, and a 32 percent increase in prescription drug costs for staff, said school district business administrator Grace Yeo.

Raising taxes is the only way school boards and town governments can fight inflation and rising costs, both the mayor and Toback said.

"The last several budget years have been very difficult; we've had million-dollar increases in multiple expenditures by the town," said Patrick DeBlasio, Secaucus' chief financial officer and the person who prepares the town's budget every year. "Last year was a 0 percent tax increase, and that was really tough to do."

Here is a livestream of Thursday night's meeting: