East Brunswick BOE Reviews Budget Items And Tax Levy Incentive Aid

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ – The East Brunswick Board of Education held a budget discussion Tuesday that extended over an hour, focusing on Tax Levy Incentive Aid data and potential program restorations.

Budget Restoration Recommendations

The Board reviewed several recommended budget restorations, including:

• Co-teaching models for band and orchestra at Churchill and Hammarskjold schools
• One fine arts teaching position (shared between Hammarskjold and High School)
• Transportation to high school graduation while eliminating employee mileage reimbursement
• Churchill late bus service for one day per week
• Full-time bus driver schedules returning from seven to eight hours

The Board also discussed reducing summer teaching staff due to enrollment decreases and the ongoing need for volunteer coaches.

Tax Levy Incentive Aid Analysis

Assistant Superintendent Bernardo Giuliana presented Tax Levy Incentive Aid data from the Department of Education, explaining East Brunswick's spending situation.

"What the state tells us is that East Brunswick is spending below adequacy. Adequacy components include tax levy and several components of state aid. And given the current state aid and tax levies, the state is determining we are below adequacy," Giuliana stated.

The district has an available bank cap of $292,000 with a maximum additional expenditure possibility of $2.8 million. Of this $2.8 million ceiling, the tax levy portion represents $2.6 million, with the tax levy incentive portion being $132,000 (5% of the total).

The proposed expenditure request totals $1,001,320, which includes $1,079,000 for tax levy and $53,000 for state aid.

The tentative budget reflects a 2.83% increase, which translates to approximately $184 per year for taxpayers. With the net budget restorations adding another 1.74% (about $48 annually), the total increase amounts to 3.57%, or $232 per year.

The Tax Levy Incentive Aid program, part of the state's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, targets districts spending under adequacy—those not meeting the state's definition of providing a "thorough and efficient education" as required by the New Jersey Constitution—and whose property tax levy falls below the local fair share.

You can watch the entire meeting here:

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