Freehold Regional HS District Budget Awaits State Aid OK

MANALAPAN, NJ — The Freehold Regional High School District is awaiting formal approval of state aid restoration to finalize its school budget, the district said.

It expects to present the budget at a public hearing April 27.

The final figures won't be known until the amount of state aid restoration is formally approved by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Murphy, but the district is slated to get $4,464,057 restored.

Freehold Regional, among many other districts in the area, saw a decrease in state aid. Freehold Regional's decrease was greater than anticipated.

The district was highly critical of a 22.14 percent cut in state aid over last year for the district, based on the proposed state budget.

Superintendent Dr. Charles Sampson called the cuts "pernicious," and he said the district was "caught off guard," anticipating a $2.1 million reduction, but then facing a $6.7 million reduction based on state formulas.

Aid restoration should offset that unanticipated amount, if approved.

He has said the state determination of what the district should be paying in taxes went up 10 percent, creating the increase in the anticipated aid shortfall.

The Freehold Regional High School District serves approximately 10,400 students in six high schools from the municipalities of Howell and Farmingdale, Freehold, Freehold Township, Manalapan and Englishtown, Marlboro, and Colts Neck.

The regional district is expected to receive $4,464,057 in state aid restoration, according to Dyese Davis, chief of staff for the office of state Sen. Vin Gopal, who chairs the state Senate Education Committee and has been advocating for the aid restoration.

The Freehold Regional district provided a general outline of its proposed budget earlier this month. The potential restoration aid figure is not included in the tentative budget, the district noted.

The board voted to adopt the tentative budget, citing the following:

Total expenditures for the 2023-2024 budget are $204,745,871. Total anticipated revenues are $51,455,491.

The preliminary budget called for raising $153,290,380 through taxes, including debt service, according to the district. The tax rates for the municipalities in the district were not determined as yet.

The expenditures include an adjustment for increased costs for health benefits of $3,767,020.

The preliminary budget also includes a withdrawal from the capital reserve of $225,000 for the replacement of a public address system and improvements to auditorium lighting for the district.

The board also approved a maximum expenditure for total teacher and staff travel and expense reimbursement of $250,000.

Discussion regarding the tentative budget was held during the introduction at the March meeting.

The final budget hearing will provide more detail information. It will take place at the regional district offices at 11 Pine Street, Englishtown, at 7 p.m.