Tentative Budget With 5.67% Tax Increase Approved By Westfield Schools For 2026-27

WESTFIELD, NJ — The Westfield Board of Education introduced a tentative $146.7 million budget with a 5.67 percent tax increase for the 2026-27 school year during Monday's board meeting.

The tentative budget means that an average assessed Westfield home at $834,534 would see a school tax of $12,464 for the 2026-2027 school year. This is an annual increase of $543 a year or $45 a month over last year for 2025-26.

Superintendent Raymond González noted that "this is the first year that we find ourselves having to make some difficult decisions about whether or not we're able to continue" with their strategic plans.

Earlier budget sessions projected an increase of 7.63 percent. However, the Board of Education(BOE) asked the administration to keep the budget within the allowable 2 percent tax levy.

"The administration worked together both at the department level and at the school level to look at the items that were included in our initial proposed budget in order to make determinations as to what we would either have to forego or what we could reduce in order to reach a tax levy impact that would stay within the allowable context so that the board of education would be able to approve it," said González at the meeting.

Business Administrator Patty Ramos said the district's "marching orders last board meeting were to stay within that allowable tax levy cap with the adjustments."

In order to do that, the school district made adjustments, including to the third-grade furniture for around $300,000, professional services lines to identify areas that they could reduce, and be able to still operate the school district with the necessary professional services.

Ramos said they also looked at their technology and equipment supplies to be able to make determinations on what they would be able to reduce and, therefore, what they would be able to continue to need in order to operate our school district.

"In all of these areas, we shaved funds off in order to help us stay within the tax levy cap. We also made adjustments or looked at our staffing in order to identify what adjustments could be made," said González.

Staffing adjustments were related to retirements or resignations.

The allowable state tax levy cap and bank cap is 2 percent without requiring a separate vote.

Westfield's health adjustment was 4.3 percent.

"This is generated because state health benefits went up by over 30 percent this year. So because of that, the state uses that calculation, applies it to all districts, and allows us to exceed the cap in any given year that that happens," said Ramos.

"So our allowable increase was 6.3 percent without a separate proposal. That's where we were at when we went back and looked through this whole budget," said Ramos.

Last Thursday, the state Department of Education released the 2026-27 state funding figures, which included a six percent increase to Westfield.

The district is expected to get $534,006 more than last year in school aid from New Jersey as part of the latest state budget proposal.

• Related: Westfield Schools Will Get More State Aid For 2026-27

For the 2026-27 school year, the district is slated to receive $9,434,114, or 6 percent more than in the 2025-26 school year. The district also received a six percent increase in 2025-26.

Because of the increase in state aid, Westfield Schools was able to apply it to the budget and bring the percentage down to 5.97 percent.

"Just to summarize, everything that we've been presenting over the last several months has really been to demonstrate to the board and to the public that we continue to be guided by our strategic plan and the initiatives that we have been putting in place over the last several years to grow and expand opportunities for students in this district. Every year we revisit that plan and develop a budget that allows us to reach those goals, but we do so with the fiscal picture in mind," said González.

While González noted that the 2026-27 budget doesn't derail the district from its strategic plans, but "it just pumps the brakes and slows us down."

"It allows us to continue to use our strategic plan as our north star to keep us guided and working in the right direction. But we do recognize the fiscal implications of all of the above when making these decisions and we appreciate everyone's consideration that," said González.

A public budget hearing and final vote are set for April 7.

See the full budget presentation below(Begins at around 48:10):

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