The Little Egg Harbor Board of Education approved a nearly 33% school tax increase for homeowners this week during a meeting that included very little pushback from the public.
The board voted 5-2 in favor of the budget that included the large increase to help solve the Ocean County district’s financial problems.
Everyone who spoke in support of passing the budget acknowledged it would be a financial burden on homeowners. However, members of the school board and other speakers at Tuesday’s meeting said their biggest concern was increasing class sizes if the district didn’t raise taxes.
Little Egg Harbor School Board Vice President Abby Martin — who voted in favor of the tax increase — blamed the state school funding formula for Little Egg Harbor’s budget crisis.
“I can’t help but think this is all political and it drives me crazy,” Martin said.
The nearly 33% tax increase will mean a yearly school tax hike of $615 on an average house valued at $308,000.
The Little Egg Harbor School District serves a little over 1,700 students, nearly 50% of whom receive free or reduced lunch. Unlike many districts experiencing a budget crunch around the state, enrollment numbers are not down in Little Egg Harbor.
The district says its funding decreased by over $1.5 million between the 2022 and 2024 school years.
Some of the decrease was due to the end of federal COVID relief funds, which previously gave the school district a $1 million boost, Robert Green, the district’s business administrator, said at a board meeting in early April.
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Under Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed state budget, Little Egg Harbor is expected to receive $7.7 million in state education funding for the upcoming school year. That is a 6% increase, or about $436,000 more than last year, according to state Department of Education data.
Little Egg Harbor and 280 other school districts are eligible for a state Tax Levy Incentive Aid program this year. Districts that apply for the program and are approved can impose larger-than-usual tax increases on homeowners.
To incentivize districts to apply for the extra aid, the state will pay the districts 5% of the amount they want to raise in taxes.
In Little Egg Harbor’s case, district officials asked the state to allow them to raise more than $3 million more from local taxpayers. The state will chip in $151,585, or 5% of the total Little Egg Harbor plans to increase its tax levy.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Little Egg Harbor Superintendent Lisa Antunes announced the state had approved the district’s application for the extra aid.
“By doing so, they are affirming that we need this money to provide a thorough and efficient education to the students of Little Egg Harbor School District,” she said.
Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, R-Ocean, criticized both Little Egg Harbor’s tax hike and the state program that provided the incentive for the tax increase.
“A 33% increase on families already struggling with the cost of living is not a solution — it’s a betrayal,” Sauickie said in a statement Thursday.
School board member Christine Snyder said Little Egg Harbor was limited in how it could raise more money for schools because it had no property or school buildings to sell.
“We don’t have land. We don’t have buildings we can close. We’re using every piece of space that we have,” Snyder said at the meeting.
Seven members of the public shared their thoughts about the budget during the public comment period. Three of the speakers asked questions. The remaining four speakers were split on whether the budget should be approved.
One parent, who is also a district employee, expressed concern that raising class sizes would jeopardize the quality of education in the district. She said her school tax increase would be about $35 a month for her house.
“I’m willing to give up a few extra coffee runs a month to cover that $35 in order to keep the jobs that our schools so desperately need, so that our students can get the education they deserve,” the parent said.
The district’s budget presentation included a class size chart for both a 33% tax increase and a 25% increase. With a 25% tax increase, some second grade classrooms would grow to 50 students, the district said.
With the larger school tax increase, class sizes for second graders were expected to be 33 students, the district said.
Another long-time taxpayer at the meeting said he and fellow residents are “tired of being relied on as the cash cows for the board of educations in the township.”
Another speaker who said her children have attended Little Egg Harbor schools since 2019 said, “Children are not a cost benefit analysis. They are an investment.”
“You’ll notice I haven’t said a word about test scores or report cards,” she said. “Our children are worth more than the grades they produce.”
Stories by Liz Rosenberg
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Liz Rosenberg may be reached at lrosenberg@njadvancemedia.com.