Tax Increase Introduced In Long Valley School Budget For 2025-2026

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Long Valley homeowners can expect higher taxes following the Washington Township Board of Education's approval of the proposed school budget for 2025-26.

The $49.3 million preliminary budget was approved by the BOE at its meeting last month, and voters will have another opportunity to provide feedback before it is finalized at the April 29 meeting.

Although the tax increase is capped at 2 percent, a health benefit adjustment and bank cap allowed the district to raise the levy by an additional 0.95 percent, officials said during the budget introduction.

Under the proposed budget, a homeowner with a property assessed at $442,633 would see an increase of $196, raising the tax levy by 2.95 percent, according to district officials.

With expenses rising across the board and a 3 percent cut in state aid this year, the district faced significant challenges in drafting this year’s budget, officials said.

According to the presentation, the budget will include:

• A new English Language Arts program for kindergarten and first grade
• A new integrated preschool program at Kossmann Elementary School
• New Chromebooks for all students in grades 1-5
• Two new school resource officers and one Class 3 officer
• Updates to the math curriculum
• A new Writing and Development program for STEAM

During the March 11 meeting, district officials said a more detailed presentation will soon be available for families, with representatives from special education, the director of curriculum and instruction, and the technology coordinator present.

You can view the full Board of Education meeting on YouTube.