District overview
Millburn Township Public Schools
How Millburn Township Public Schools is funded, governed, and spending money right now
How is the district funded?
Like most New Jersey districts, Millburn is funded mainly by local property taxes, not the state. The board adopted a 2026-2027 budget totaling $126,534,180, and $109,919,521 of that -- about 87% -- comes from the local tax levy paid by Millburn Township property owners. State law normally caps how much that levy can grow each year at 2%. For 2026-2027, the state approved the district's request to exceed that cap because health insurance costs for staff rose by more than $3.65 million, allowing that amount to be added on top of the normal increase. Before final adoption, the board also cut a net 4 teaching positions, citing enrollment and schedule changes, bringing the total down from the $126,878,636 originally advertised.
$126.5M total 2026-27 budget
General Fund $117,639,367, Debt Service $6,781,578, Special Revenue $2,113,235 -- adopted May 4, 2026 after the board trimmed $344,456 from the originally advertised budget.
$109.9M local tax levy
About 87% of the total budget comes from Millburn Township property taxes.
Levy cap exceeded for health costs
The state approved a $3,653,160 increase above the normal 2% cap specifically to cover higher health-benefit premiums.
Two active bond referenda
The district still draws on voter-approved 2020 and 2023 referenda to fund capital projects, alongside pay-as-you-go capital reserve spending.
Exceeding the tax-levy cap does not mean the district is spending carelessly. State rules only allow it for specific, documented cost increases like health insurance, and the board also cut its own spending -- trimming positions rather than passing the full advertised increase through to taxpayers.
Where the district stands
K-12 enrollment fell from 4,589 (2024-25) to 4,456 (2025-26), a drop of 133 students. The decline was sharpest in the incoming 6th-grade cohort, down 16%.
Calculated as the $126,534,180 total 2026-27 budget divided by the 4,456 students enrolled as of October 2025. This covers the whole district budget, not just classroom instruction, and the two figures are from different points in time.
Millburn's Board of Education has nine elected members serving staggered three-year terms.
Major projects
High School Athletic Fields (turf conversion + lighting)
Under constructionA joint project with Millburn Township to convert two multi-purpose fields plus Miller Field at Millburn High School from natural grass to artificial turf and add lighting, aimed at closing a 16% shortfall in usable playing hours. Presented in November 2025, the board signed a shared-services agreement and design contract in February 2026, and awarded the construction contract in July 2026 over some public objection to the project's environmental impact and the lack of a townwide referendum.
- Joint presentation to the Board and Township Council; preliminary combined cost estimate ~$7.5M
- Shared-services agreement with the Township approved; $192,500 design contract awarded to EI Associates
- $5,666,283 construction contract awarded to Thomas & Sons Builders LLC
Funding
Joint project with Millburn Township; district's design contract paid from Capital Reserve
Millburn High School Roof B Replacement
Construction substantially completeReplacement of a section of the Millburn High School roof, awarded after the two lowest bids were withdrawn or rejected for procedural defects.
- Public bid opening; lowest bidder withdrew, second-lowest bid rejected for a bond-form defect
- $1,324,300 contract awarded to Northeast Roof Maintenance, Inc.
- Final payment application approved
Funding
General Fund capital budget
Multi-year facilities capital program (HVAC, science labs, MHS auditorium)
OngoingA running program of HVAC upgrades, science-lab renovations, and the Millburn High School auditorium renovation, funded through capital reserve spending and the district's 2020 and 2023 voter-approved referenda. The auditorium renovation hosted its first production in March 2026.
- Board approved change orders and payments for HVAC upgrades at multiple schools and the MHS science lab renovation
- MHS Auditorium Renovation payment application ($890,682.80) approved
- First production staged in the renovated MHS auditorium
Funding
Capital reserve and 2020/2023 voter-approved referenda
District cabinet and building-leadership transitions
In progressSeveral senior leadership roles changed over the year: a new Millburn High School principal started in December 2025; Assistant Superintendent John Connolly left in mid-2026 to become Superintendent of Madison, NJ; Kyle Arlington was promoted to succeed him; and Dr. Anne Richardson moved from Washington Elementary principal to Middle School principal, both effective July 1, 2026.
- Robert B. Nixon, Jr. begins as Millburn High School Principal
- Both Millburn High School Vice-Principal seats filled
- Board approves Richardson as Middle School Principal and Arlington as Assistant Superintendent, both effective July 1, 2026
Funding
Not applicable
Recent news
Recent alerts by topic
Every agenda in the collected 12-month corpus was downloaded and read in full -- Millburn's agendas print the complete text of each resolution the board votes on, not just a title. Minutes, presentations, and attachment packets were opened and read (using OCR where a file was a scanned, signed copy with no embedded text) whenever an item needed outcome confirmation, a dollar figure the agenda did not give, or was a candidate for an alert or an overview figure. For routine, unremarkable business, the agenda's resolution text is treated as the record of what the board considered.
Get alerts for Millburn Township Public Schools
We read every agenda, packet, and set of minutes, and write up the decisions that affect families — each one linked to the document it came from.
View alerts for this district