Toms River Schools Face $22.3M Shortfall In Tentative 2025-26 Budget

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Toms River Regional School District is facing a case of deja vu, with a tentative $293.5 million budget for the 2025-26 school year that includes a $22.3 million shortfall.

The tentative budget, introduced Wednesday night so it can be submitted to the Ocean County executive superintendent for approval, is "the minimum of what it takes to operate our district for the school year," Superintendent Michael Citta said.

Information on the details of the budget will be presented at the Citizens Budget Advisory meeting set for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2, in the media center at Toms River High School North.

The public hearing on the budget is set for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, in the auditorium at Toms River North.

The $22.3 million shortfall has been mentioned for months by Citta, as the district continues to struggle with the impacts of state funding cuts under S2. While the district is to receive $29,871,392 in state aid under Gov. Phil Murphy's proposed budget — an increase of $1,690,833 over the 2024-25 funding — it still faces challenges in closing the gap.

In its tentative budget, the district says it is including a request for additional aid of $22,346,599 in funding either in the form of aid or a loan from the state — similar to the district's request last year.

The tentative budget includes a 2.5 percent increase in the district's tax levy, including the waiver for increases in salaries and health benefits expenses. In Toms River, the tax rate would increase 1.7 percent, which translates to $70.78 per year for a home assessed at $448,400. In South Toms River, the rate increase would be 8.8 percent, with a home assessed at $179,600 seeing an increase of $167.50 for the year. Beachwood homeowners would see an increase of 5.6 percent, or $147.70 for the year for a home assessed at $208,200, and Pine Beach homeowners would see a 2.5 percent increase, equaling $88.38 per year, for a home assessed at $413,200, according to the district.

The district continues to be well under adequacy — the amount the state Department of Education says it should be spending to educate students — with an estimate of more than $106.7 million below what the state says is necessary to provide a thorough and efficient education for students for 2025-26. This is an increase of $36 million over 2024-25, according to figures compiled by district business administrator William Doering.

At the same time, the state says the district's tax levy local fair share rose an additional $45 million to $323.6 million for 2025-26. This is the amount the state says local taxpayers should be contributing to fund the schools. The district's proposed tax levy for the 2025-26 is $209,344,304, more than $122 million below the local fair share number from the state.

The resolution and information on the tentative budget begin on page 14 of the business agenda from Wednesday's meeting.

Murphy has said the state funding for 2025-26 school year includes a change in how special education is funded, moving to funding per student instead of an estimate of how many special education students are expected to be in a district. Doering, however, said the state had incorrectly allocated special education and transportation funding into the "equalization aid" category in 2024-25 and just shifted the funds for 2025-26.

Doering shared an email from state education department employees to the district that said aid had indeed been incorrectly categorized last year and said it had been incorrectly categorized for a few years.

Citta said the district was submitting the 2025-26 tentative budget to meet statutory deadlines but said there is constant work on different legislative ideas to address the funding gap.

In 2024-25, the tax levy rose 9.9 percent after the state approved the district's tentative budget, which had been rejected by the Board of Education when the state refused to provide additional funding or permit the district to take out a loan to cover the shortfall.

The district also was forced for the second year to sell property to close a budget shortfall. After selling a 17-acre parcel next to Silver Bay Elementary School to Toms River to fill a $4 million hole in the 2023-24 budget, the district has been working on selling its administration building at 1144 Hooper Ave. to Ocean County.

The board approved a resolution Wednesday night to submit the proposed sale of the administration building and property to the state Department of Education for its approval.

The resolution does not mention a potential sale price for the property.

The Ocean County Board of Commissioners has not made any public statements on the potential purchase of the 7.17-acre parcel.

"The County has not yet authorized a contract for purchase," County Administrator Michael J. Fiure said by email on Thursday. "However we anticipate taking action at the next Board Meeting of April 2nd."

"Until then the County cannot comment on negotiations," Fiure said.

The Toms River Regional District continues to pursue its lawsuit against the state Department of Education over the impacts of S2. The lawsuit, which the district filed in October, has been moved from Ocean County to Mercer County, where the state's offices are located. In it, the district laid out the impacts of the funding cuts on Toms River Regional students: Falling Test Scores, Rising Absenteeism: Suit Details Aid Cuts Toll On Toms River Schools