School taxes up $5.2 million to cover health costs

What happened

On April 30, 2026 the board adopted a 2026-2027 budget of $178,329,479, with $142,640,431 to be raised in local property taxes. That levy is $5,177,304 higher than the tentative budget approved five weeks earlier, and the board's own resolution gives one reason: it is utilising the allowable health adjustment, the exception New Jersey law makes to the 2 percent limit on levy growth specifically for health-care cost increases. The budget also shows the district running with no debt service levy at all, so every local dollar goes to operating costs.

Why it matters to families

Brick raises about $142.6 million of its $164.1 million general fund locally, so this increase is felt directly by Brick homeowners. Using the health adjustment means the rise is not paying for new programmes; it is covering insurance. The changes between the tentative and final budgets show the trade-offs: one extra teacher in grades 1-5, a $71,763 reduction in grades 9-12 teacher salaries described as a reduction due to other higher prioritised needs, and $700,000 more for purchased professional-educational services.

The evidence

The April 30, 2026 agenda and approved minutes carry the adoption resolution with total expenditures of $164,119,022 in the general fund and $15,210,457 in special revenue, anticipated revenues of $35,689,048 and taxes to be raised of $142,640,431, and the modification table showing the local tax levy base budget rising from $137,463,127 in the tentative budget to $142,640,431 in the final budget with the explanation utilising allowable health adjustment.

The source