$22M Budget Focuses On STEM, Social Emotional Learning In Mendham

MENDHAM, NJ — The Mendham Township School District's tentative budget was released last week, and officials stated that they hoped to prioritize funds for STEM and social-emotional learning instructional programs.

The $22.36 million budget for the 2023-24 school year is a $738,705 expenditure increase over last year's.

According to Superintendent Dr. Sal Constantino, while the administration and Board of Education did their best to proactively control costs and reduce the tax burden for township residents, some rising costs are non-discretionary.

In the 2023–24 school year, state aid will cover approximately $1.27 million of the school's expenses. This is a $214,634 increase over last year's budget and will be used to fund programs that combat learning loss and assist students in returning to grade-level achievement.

One of the budget's top priorities is expanding the district's curriculum with new STEM units of study, new and revised initiatives and training for social and emotional learning, as well as technology integration throughout the curriculum.

Constantino stated that the district intends to keep its current staff in order to continue to offer small class sizes, a low student-teacher ratio, and enhanced programming.

While the district strives to maintain small class sizes, the student population has steadily increased since 2019, particularly in the lower grades (K-2).

The enrollment increased from 727 in April 2019 to 805 in April 2023 and that trend is expected to continue, according to district officials.

Three new support staff positions and a special education staff position would be funded in the 2023–24 budget to support MTES students who require assistance while remaining in general education classrooms.

"This budget does an excellent job of focusing on and providing resources for areas that we know our students need," Constantino said.

Despite rising costs and that increased student enrollment, the district's administration and board of education touted fiscal responsibility while preparing this year's budget plan.

According to Constantino, the Mendham Township School District has a banked cap that will expire if not used within the next two to three years due to the district's multi-year budget planning.

In New Jersey, school districts can raise the tax levy by up to 2 percent per year.

If a district does not raise the full amount of the tax levy in a given year, they can save or "bank" the difference for future years when they may need to exceed the 2 percent cap.

As a result, the Mendham Township School District will raise the tax levy by 4.29 percent using the banked cap. According to officials, this is $394,807 more than the limit.

Residents will see a decrease in the school portion of their tax bills. A home assessed at Mendham Township's average, which is $948,400, can expect a $363.44 tax reduction over the course of a year.

"A huge body of work went into this... There are not many people who pay attention to the goings on of the board of education; maybe, at certain times, it captures people's attention... What we've got here is truly very fiscally responsible, in light of huge challenges that we had and continue to have," board member Peter Dumovic said.

The budget was tentatively approved by the Board of Education at its March 14 meeting, and it was sent to the New Jersey Department of Education for review.

At an upcoming board meeting, the budget will also be presented to the Mendham Township Committee. During that time, the district will monitor conditions that may necessitate changes and will solicit public feedback before voting on the budget formally on April 25 at 7:30 p.m.