Middletown Could Raise Taxes 10 Percent To Keep 3 Schools Open

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The Middletown school district has released a new development in the proposal to close three schools in the district to close a $10-million budget shortfall.

The Middletown school district was just approved by the state last week to raise the school property tax above the 2-percent cap. If the district chooses this option, school property taxes would increase 5.2 percent, on top of the 4.8 percent increase already in the budget, for a total of 10.1 percent tax increase. (Middletown was already approved to raise taxes 4.88 percent this year.)

A tax increase of that size would likely keep the three schools open (Leonardo, Navesink elementaries, and Bayshore Middle).

The news was sent to the Middletown school community at 1 p.m. Monday. The public can read the letter here: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/u...

Superintendent Jessica Alfone said the NJ Dept. of Education just informed Middletown last week of this. Middletown is one of 20 districts across the state that qualified to raise taxes above the existing 2-percent cap.

"It was too late by then to work it into the budget," she said.

The Middletown school district now has three options:

• Close the three schools
• Lay off approximately 120 staff members, and eliminate certain after-school activities
• Raise school property taxes 10.1%

The public will not be able to take a vote on this. It is the job of the Middletown school board to make this choice. However, starting Wednesday there will be a series of public meetings to get community input, and the district is collecting a community survey to gauge what the tax-paying residents of Middletown want to do.

Here is the letter in full from superintendent Jessica Alfone, sent out at 1 p.m. Monday:

"This communication is to inform the school community of new information that we have received from the New Jersey Department of Education related to the district’s budget. The district has qualified for a new tax-incentive program aimed at helping eligible districts generate revenue.

There are a limited number of districts in the state that have qualified based on their financial progress towards adequacy, and is a product of realizing greater efficiencies in our budget over time. Unfortunately, this information was not disseminated in time for us to consider in our initial proposal.

Under the new tax incentive program, the district is eligible to generate up to an additional $8,372,956 ($8.3 million), or 5.2%, in revenue through local taxes. The district is also eligible to receive a maximum $418,648 state aid incentive for the 2025-2026 school year. If the application is approved, the district would be eligible to raise taxes an additional 5.2%, combined with the 4.88% tax levy tentatively approved in next year’s budget for a total of 10.1%.

In preparation for the upcoming community forums, we wanted to ensure that we informed the school community of this new development and alternative option. Below you will find the schedule for the community forums: The event dates/times can be found below:

• Wednesday, March 26 at 6:00-8:00 pm at the High School North Auditorium
• Monday, March 31 at 6:00 - 8:00 pm at the Thompson Gymnasium
• Wednesday, April 9 at 6:00-8:00 pm in the High School North Auditoriu
• Thursday, April 10 at 6:00-8:00 pm at the High School South Gymnasium

The events will also be live streamed via the district's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channe...

Board president Frank Capone is critical of the proposed 10.1 percent tax increase.

"It is unfortunate that the governor's administration has implemented incentivized tax increases for districts that consistently manage their budgets well," said Capone Monday in response to the 10.1 percent proposed tax increase. "Instead of allocating a larger share of S2 (School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) funding to us, they think it is fair to ask our taxpayers for a local tax increase. The funding formula is fundamentally flawed and is negatively affecting working class districts across the state, which is completely unacceptable."

"None of these three options are optimal," said Board vice president Jacqueline Tobacco, who voted for the tentative budget. "A 10 percent tax hike is a lot to ask of Middletown residents in this economy. But I am looking forward to community input at our forums."