Toms River School Board OKs Budget For 1st Time In 3 Years

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional Board of Education approved the 2026-27 school budget on Wednesday night, the first time in three years the school board has approved the district's budget.

The board also approved a new five-year contract for Superintendent Michael Citta that includes a nearly $50,000 pay raise retroactive to July 1, 2025.

The $306 million budget, introduced in March, includes a 4.9 percent overall increase in the district's tax levy, with impacts differing for each of the district's four towns. That number includes both the general fund, which covers the daily operations of the district, and the debt service being paid on bonds the district issued for various work over the years, including the $147 million in capital projects that were approved by voters in 2019.

Each of the last two years, the school board rejected the final budget because of the included tax levy increases — 9.9 percent in 2024 and 12.9 percent in 2025 — that were included in the tentative budgets, as part of the district's battle with New Jersey over its school funding.

Both years, the state Department of Education imposed the tentative budgets on the district, and in 2025 demanded the district shut down until the budget was approved, while also threatening the district with unspecified "additional steps to safeguard district students and the school community’s public trust from further risk."

On Wednesday night, that threat appeared to be the driving force behind the yes votes cast by all of the board members present except Marisa Matarazzo, who voted no.

"I don't think I've ever voted to approve a budget," said board president Ashley Lamb, who attended the meeting by phone as she recovers from the birth of her daughter two weeks ago. "If we do not pass this budget and we open ourselves up to state monitors and things like that, I just don't trust what the state will do."

"I'm hoping that Governor Sherrill will change the funding formula and do something to fix the atrocity that has been school funding in New Jersey. But the bottom line is that I know that our district has the best interest of our kids at heart. And that's where we have to to stake our our claim here with moving forward with our budget."

"Obviously, nobody wants to raise taxes," said Joseph Jubert, who represents South Toms River. "I pay taxes just like everybody else, but we know that if this budget isn't approved, the state will implement it as they have in the past two years."

"The issue with this budget as much as anything else and what's going on in Toms River is not about strictly what's uh the budget itself, but the issue is fair and equitable funding for the district from the state," he said.

"I don't want to do what we did last year with voting no and then everyone got stuck with such a high increase of their taxes," board member Kathy Eagen said. "So, I think this is the best we can do at this point."

"I know it's an unfair setup, but it's even more unfair to ask kids to take the hit," said Kevin Kidney, who represents Pine Beach. "As adults, it's our responsibility to pay the higher taxes and take care of our kids."

Also voting yes were board members Jennifer Howe, Katie Coyne, who represents Beachwood, and Lisa Contessa, who also joined the meeting by phone. Board member Joseph Capone was absent.

Matarazzo did not comment when she voted no.

Only a handful of people stayed for the hearings on the budget and on Citta's contract after the room was filled with students and their families for the student recognition portion of the meeting. Of those who remained, only a few commented.

Lawrence Cuneo, who is the mayor of Pine Beach and retired last year from his teaching position in the district, was critical of the tax increase, which is 8.2 percent for residents of his borough.

He said the district's administration had not done enough to prepare for the continuing gap in state aid — Toms River Regional officials contend the district is being shorted what it should be receiving because the state has capped aid increases at 6 percent for the majority of districts.

"I know that the superintendent is proposing to redistricting and bringing back out-of-district placements. This should have been ready for this coming school year," Cuneo said. "But the Toms River Schools has a problem in effectively selling its concepts to the public. We saw this happen with Seaside Heights and we saw it happen last year when this was initially proposed. Both plans sounded wonderful, but the message to the public is confusing and misguided to the point where Toms Regional Schools could not give water away in the desert."

"Budgets are tough. Not preparing knowing what is coming is inexcusable," Cuneo said.

Krista Whittaker of South Toms River, criticized plans both for Citta's contract and for a new position of administrator of finance.

"I know we're slated to sell off more property. Obviously, I know it's been no schools, but we keep raising taxes, selling off our property, and we still can't manage this budget," she said.

Lamb, in her comments voting to approve the budget, noted the criticisms and said that while the district has sold property each of the last two years, in both cases the property was purchased by other government entities and as such stayed in the hands of taxpayers.

Citta's contract — he is receiving an increase to $275,000 for 2025-26 retroactive to July 1, from $228,159.72, with raises of 2.5 percent for 2026-27 and 3 percent per year for 2027-28, 2028-29 and 2029-30 to bring him to $308,012.43 — received support from a handful of members of the public who spoke during that portion of the meeting.

Scott Campbell, president of the Toms River Education Association, compared Citta with the superintendent in another district, who he said did not know how many students were in her district when asked at a board meeting in recent days.

He praised Citta for his Toms River roots and for working "tirelessly on S2," which saddled the district with millions on state aid cuts from 2017 until the 2024-25.

Campbell said Citta sets the tone of "students first" in the district "over and over again and his actions show it's true."

One resident, Diane Ricardielli, was critical of the contract and the tax increase, saying the board needs to be mindful of the impact on senior citizens in the district who are living on their Social Security income.

"They can't afford these raises," she said.

Eagan replied that she too receives Social Security and is able to afford her property taxes.

Jamie Tesoro, who works for the district, supported Citta's contract, saying "Who wants this job as superintendent?"

"It is 24-7, it is a thankless job," she said, adding "I don't think anybody, even including myself, realizes everything that Mr. Citta has to deal with and all the stress that's involved."

The board voted 5-1 with Eagan and Jubert abstaining due to conflicts to approve the contract, with Coyne defending the raises because Citta had taken a lower salary to start when he was hired after a contentious battle in 2021.

Coyne said the board compared Citta's salary with that of other superintendents and even business administrators in other districts, and felt the increases were justified.

Howe, who was appointed to fill the board vacancy created in February when Paola Pascarella resigned, served on the board when Citta was appointed. She said the district would wind up paying a great deal more if it had to hire a new superintendent to replace Citta.

She referenced remarks by Campbell and an Asbury Park Press report that examined superintendents' salaries and broke down the cost per pupil. Citta's salary equals just under $19 per student, according to that report.

"If you actually worked out his salary by the hour he's not getting paid enough," Howe said, "so I fully support my decision (to appoint) him as our superintendent. I have all the trust in him and this administration."

After the contract was approved, Citta thanked "the majority of the board" for approving it even as there was controversy.

"I guess it comes with the job," Citta said. "I went through a very ugly and long drawn-out superintendent search where politics entered and exited and entered and exited and I I don't regret any of it. I love this place. I love these kids. I love this staff."

He responded indirectly to criticisms of his contract and the budget.

"When it comes to budget, I entered this job already 60-plus million dollars in the hole from the state and faced the
worst of the cuts from the state after I got there. So yeah, it's not rinse repeat. It is plan. It's digging in. It's having fortitude. It's standing in front of the fire. It's staying true to your convictions. It's doing that with the support of this community, these students, and this staff in mind every day," he said.

"The fact that superintendents' contracts have to be voted on publicly through public hearing and whatever is just absurd and it's part of the process," Citta said, adding that he sees contentious processes around those contracts in other districts. "I do my best to block out the noise and focus on the future and focus on our purpose."

The tax levy increases in the district's four towns are as follows:

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.