Budget Meltdowns Slam Schools Across Essex County, Hundreds Of Jobs At Risk

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — It’s been an ugly budget season in Essex County.

School districts across the region – one of the most densely populated areas of New Jersey – have been struggling with sweeping austerity measures and mass layoffs as they hammer out their latest budgets. Hundreds of staff cuts are being planned, and local property taxes are still expected to rise.

The financial crunch has been widespread.

In West Orange, a $14 million budget gap is expected to cause the loss of at least 70 full-time staff positions. Other cost-cutting measures being floated include increases in class sizes across the district, a restructuring of the middle school schedule and outsourcing some services.

In Montclair, where a controversial school tax referendum recently ended with a split vote, the district is planning nearly $6 million in cuts, including 23 middle school teachers, four high school teachers and five elementary school teachers. Other proposed cuts include eliminating freshman sports and slashing transportation costs.

In Newark, the district expects to drop 30 teachers, six administration positions and nine school support positions – while raising the tax levy 2 percent.

In Livingston, 40 staff positions may be cut to help balance the budget. The list includes 11 teachers, 15 aides, eight support staff, four student support staff and two administrators – although 12 of the positions are slated to be reduced through attrition, not terminations.

In Bloomfield, administrators are proposing to cut 24 jobs and freeze salaries for non-unionized staff. The district is facing about $10.4 million in cost increases, including $5 million for health benefits and $4 million for contractual increases.

In Belleville, a combination of cuts to state aid and federal grants have put the district in a $2 million hole to kick off a new budget season. The district continues to experience significant cost increases across multiple areas, including energy, tuition and employee benefits, which have risen almost 30 percent.

In South Orange and Maplewood – which share a school district – administrators are looking to cut about $6 million from the budget, with costs “far exceeding” expected revenue. A total of 23 positions are potentially on the chopping block. Only five would be a reduction in force; the other 18 would come through not filling vacancies. Other potential cuts include ending courtesy preschool busing, and changing start and end times for students.

SCHOOL FUNDING IN NEW JERSEY

Some Essex County districts have blamed the state’s controversial school aid funding formula for exacerbating their financial woes.

State aid is meant to ease funding gaps at school districts throughout New Jersey – especially in towns and cities with lower tax bases, which can’t make up the difference as easily as their wealthier counterparts.

The aid is an influential factor in a school district's share of property taxes. Experts say that cuts, or even flat spending, can lead to tax hikes for local homeowners. RELATED: Essex County Ranked By Property Taxes (See Town-By-Town Map)

The state changed the way it calculates aid for local districts in 2018, beefing up contributions to those that have been historically “underfunded” – and cutting aid to districts that are “overfunded.”

Schools in Essex County received the most state aid in New Jersey last year, which is expected to happen again under Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s proposed budget. Essex County is in line to get a whopping $2.15 billion in K-12 aid for fiscal year 2027: a 3.97 percent increase. The runner-up lags far behind: Union County is set to get $1.25 billion.

However, a large chunk of this money is headed to the state’s largest public school district, Newark, which will receive $1.38 billion: more than 82 percent of its overall general funds.

Here is how much K-12 funding each public school district in Essex County is expected to get:

• Belleville - $67,268,777 (1.51% decrease)
• Bloomfield - $49,978,624 (3% decrease)
• Caldwell-West Caldwell - $3,858,861 (1.82% increase)
• Cedar Grove - $2,422,197 (1.54% increase)
• East Orange - $189,132,715 (2.44% increase)
• Essex County Voc-Tech - $32,763,199 (6% increase)
• Essex Fells - $306,282 (6% increase)
• Fairfield- $970,548 (3% decrease)
• Glen Ridge - $2,607,143 (3.78% increase)
• Irvington - $190,014,533 (6% increase)
• Livingston - $9,483,132 (0.52% decrease)
• Millburn - $6,646,298 (3% decrease)
• Montclair - $10,469,700 (6% increase)
• Newark - $1,386,720,085 (4.57% increase)
• North Caldwell - $1,205,508 (6% increase)
• Nutley - $12,840,191 (6% increase)
• Orange - $136,594,621 (2.25% increase)
• Roseland - $736,413 (0.03% increase)
• South Orange-Maplewood - $11,595,011 (6% increase)
• Verona - $3,256,597 (6% increase)
• West Essex Regional - $3,435,079 (6% increase)
• West Orange - $34,532,959 (6% increase)

The problem with school funding in New Jersey may go deeper than simply shifting the amounts of aid between towns, however, some administrators say.

Last year, West Orange Board of Education issued a plea to state education officials, urging them to rework the system. Board President Brian Rock argued that there are significant flaws in the way a district’s local “fair share” of the tax burden is calculated.

“One of the biggest problems with the current structure of the formula is that a district’s local fair share can increase at a rate that far outpaces its ability to raise funds through the local tax levy,” Rock said.

“For the 2025-26 school year, our local fair share was $140,484,329,” he continued. “In three years, this amount has increased 36% from $103,493,983 (2022-23). Despite regularly raising our tax levy to the permissible cap, there is no way that we can keep up with this kind of increase.”

• Related: NJ Funding Formula Is Hurting West Orange Schools, BOE Tells State Officials

Similar complaints have been made in Montclair.

In March, the Montclair Board of Education sent a letter to state officials, calling for immediate reforms to the funding formula. The board argued that the district’s struggles are primarily driven by rising mandated costs that exceed the allowable growth in local revenue.

Local school districts are generally limited to 2 percent yearly tax levy increases in New Jersey, with some exceptions.

It’s an unrealistic number, Montclair school officials claimed.

For example, projected year-over-year increases include $5.9 million in employee benefits costs and $3.3 million in transportation expenses in Montclair, a cost increase that the district can’t control – but must absorb anyway.

“These cost drivers are not unique to Montclair, they are affecting districts across New Jersey,” said Yvonne Bouknight, president of the Montclair Board of Education.

“Without meaningful updates to the school funding formula, districts are increasingly forced to make difficult decisions that can impact class sizes, staffing and educational programming,” Bouknight said.

• Related: Sherrill Proposes Record Education Funding In NJ, Along With Consolidation

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.