Tax Increases In Toms River School District Under Tentative 2026-27 Budget

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional Board of Education approved a tentative $306 million budget for the 2026-27 school year that includes tax levy increases for the district's four towns.

The budget is up 5.4 percent from the $293 million budget for the 2025-26 school year, which Superintendent Michael Citta said was due to significant increases in health insurance costs.

The Toms River Regional district is self-insured for health insurance and has not seen cost increases at the level being seen for New Jersey's state plan for school employees, Citta said. Aon, the actuary that serves the state of New Jersey's plans, recommended a 27.9 percent for the school employees plan, 31.9 percent for active employees.

The increase is $6,574,875 for the health benefits, a 13.3 percent rise over 2025-26, according to the district's breakdown. If that was excluded, the district's budget would have increased 2.6 percent, the district said.

The district is receiving $31,663,676 in state aid for the 2026-27 school year, an increase of $1,792,284 over 2025-26. Citta said that figure was less than what the state aid formula said it should be, but was limited because the state capped increases at 6 percent.

The tax levy increase is 4.9 percent overall, but that number is not uniform for the four towns.

Toms River property owners would see a 4.6 percent increase under the proposed budget, an increase of $17.76 per month for a home assessed at the median of $450,600. The proposed tax rate is $1.077 per $100 of assessed value.

In Beachwood, the proposed tax increase is 5.3 percent, which equals $13.67 per month for a home assessed at $208,700. The proposed rate is $1.553 per $100 of assessed value.

Pine Beach property owners would see an increase of 8.2 percent, equalling $27.76 per month for a home assessed at $414,100. The proposed rate is $1.061 per $100 of assessed value.

In South Toms River, the increase would be 11.4 percent, an increase of $20.64 per month on a home assessed at $171,200, with a proposed rate of $1.417. The increase for South Toms River is significantly higher because it includes a deferred increase from the 2025-26 school year, the district said.

In addition to the increasing cost of health benefits, the district has to make up for the $1 million in tax levy incentive aid it received in 2025-26.

The proposed budget also includes $2.5 million in miscellaneous revenue "from anticipated sale of assets," notes included with the district budget said. "Efforts are being made to increase or eliminate the cap on state aid gains to eliminate the need," the notes said.

The Citizens Budget Advisory meeting, where the budget will be broken down in more detail, is set for 5:30 p.m. April 1 in the media center at Toms River High School North.

The budget hearing and adoption is scheduled for April 29 at Toms River North.

"For the last couple years we've avoided catastrophe, but we've had large taxes imposed, crippling this community to the tune of over 20 percent, mandated by the state of New Jersey in the last couple years," Citta said.

The 6 percent cap on increases in state aid has meant the district has not recovered financially the way it might have without the cap, Citta said.

"If not for those guard rails for the last two years, the tax increase wouldn't be 4.9 percent as proposed," Citta said, "It would be 1.4 percent."