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District overview

Pennsauken Township School District

How Pennsauken's schools are paid for, who decides, and what is changing

Who pays for Pennsauken's schools

State-funded, with only a quarter of the money raised locally

Pennsauken is unusual in New Jersey: state aid pays 52.2 percent of the 2026-2027 budget and the local property tax levy only 25.0 percent. Equalization aid alone - the state money meant to bridge the gap between what a district should be spending and what its own taxpayers can reasonably raise - is $86,778,204. That makes the district's finances mostly a function of decisions in Trenton rather than in Pennsauken, and it means the district has little room to raise its own revenue when outside money stops. It stopped this year: federal grants fell from $16,832,026 to $7,836,411 and other miscellaneous revenue from $33.1 million to $21.0 million, so the budget fell $9.9 million even though both the levy and state aid rose. The district covered the difference from reserves and fund balance.

State aid is 52% of revenue; the local levy is 25%

For 2026-2027 state aid is $103,493,080 including debt service, against a local levy of $47,964,314. Most New Jersey districts are the other way round.

The levy is $5.2 million below what the state says Pennsauken should raise

The state's local fair share calculation for 2026-2027 is $53,209,122 against an actual levy of $47,964,314.

Reserves are doing the balancing

Transfers from reserves nearly double to $12,500,000 and budgeted fund balance is $20,245,136. The unrestricted general operating balance is projected to fall from $5,939,238 at June 30, 2025 to $3,366,896.

About one dollar in eighteen leaves for charter schools

Charter school payments are $10,882,160 for 2026-2027, 5.66 percent of appropriations - more than the district spends on security and athletics combined.

The district's annual audit came back with no findings, reported to the board in February 2026, and its own policy manual was put through a vendor compliance audit during the autumn of 2025 with the superintendent telling the board every policy would be state-compliant by January. Heavy state dependence is a structural position, not a sign of mismanagement.

Where the district stands

Total 2026-2027 appropriationsverified
192,114,072 USD

Down $9,906,675 from the revised 2025-2026 total of $202,020,747, almost all of it federal and other outside money ending.

Share of revenue from state aidverified
52.23 percent

$100,336,889 of operating revenue. The local tax levy is 24.97 percent, reserves 6.51 percent and federal grants 4.08 percent.

Local tax levy, 2026-2027verified
47,964,314 USD

Up 4.9 percent from $45,714,335, which had itself been held flat for two years.

School tax on the average assessed homeverified
2,873.67 USD

Up $137 a year, or $11.42 a month, from $2,736.67. The rate rises from 0.968 to 1.015 and the average assessed home is $283,000.

Federal grants, 2026-2027verified
7,836,411 USD

Down from $16,832,026 in the revised 2025-2026 budget, a fall of $8,995,615.

Unrestricted general operating balance, projected June 30, 2027verified
3,366,896 USD

Down from $5,939,238 audited at June 30, 2025 and $4,236,710 estimated for 2026. Reserve transfers rise from $6,600,000 to $12,500,000.

Projected enrolment, 2026-2027verified
5,349 students

Down 4.29 percent from 5,589, the largest single-year fall in the district's published ten-year series. High school falls from 1,945 to 1,740.

Students classified for special education, 2026-2027verified
1,080 students

Up from 1,050, while total enrolment falls. Regular-education enrolment falls from 4,539 to 4,269.

Payments to charter schools, 2026-2027verified
10,882,160 USD

5.66 percent of appropriations, down slightly from $11,261,062.

Contract for locked phone pouchesverified
95,799 USD

Awarded to Yondr, Inc. in August 2026 for grades 6 to 12, after bids opened on July 2, 2026.

Board meetings with both an agenda and approved minutesverified
13 of 14 meetings

Only the September 15, 2026 meeting has an agenda without minutes, because they have not been published yet.

Major projects

Pre-kindergarten expansion at Baldwin School

Under construction, 26% complete in March 2026

The district's first stated budget goal for 2026-2027 is expanding its pre-school programme through classroom additions at Baldwin School. State Preschool Education Aid rises from $2,082,300 to $2,532,545 to support it, and the budget carries $385,000 for interior decoration and furnishing of the new wing on top of the construction cost.

Next: $3,950,285.25 plus retainage remained to complete the construction contract as of August 2026.
  1. Board reports the Baldwin project 26 percent complete
  2. 2026-2027 budget carries $385,000 for furnishing the new wing
  3. Construction payment application 12 approved at $928,462.78

Funding

Capital reserve withdrawal plus state Preschool Education Aid of $2,532,545 for 2026-2027

STEM programme wing at Pennsauken High School

Under construction, 64% complete in March 2026

A new STEM programme wing at the high school, with $228,000 in the 2026-2027 budget for interior decoration and furnishing. The board reported the project 64 percent complete in March 2026, and members visited the site alongside the magnet school in August and reported being impressed with progress. Expanding STEM learning and career pathways is the last of the board's ten budget goals for the year.

Next: Fitting out the wing so it can open for the STEM programme.
  1. Board reports the high school STEM project 64 percent complete
  2. 2026-2027 budget carries $228,000 for furnishing the wing
  3. Board members report visiting the STEM and magnet school sites

Funding

Capital reserve withdrawal

New bus depot: land acquisition

Proposed, land not yet bought

The 2026-2027 budget sets aside $9,500,000 for property and land acquisition for a proposed new bus depot - the largest single capital line in the budget, and the one that buys no classroom space. The board appointed a real estate broker for the search and its business and operations committee reported meeting the approved agent about a new location in February 2026. The budget records this is not a referendum project, so it is paid from reserves rather than by asking voters.

Next: Identifying and acquiring a site. No location, price or closing date is on the public record yet.
  1. Committee reports meeting the approved real estate agent about a new depot location
  2. $9,500,000 for depot property and land acquisition appears in the advertised budget

Funding

Capital reserve withdrawal; recorded in the budget as a non-referendum project

Administration building work, security vestibule and district fire alarms

Costed and under way in parts

Construction at the administration building with HVAC work and a security vestibule is budgeted at $5,000,000. Alongside it the district is replacing fire alarm systems, starting at Fine Elementary School and then completing every building, and renovating the softball and baseball fields. A burst pipe at the concession stand and garage was repaired during the winter.

Next: Completing fire alarm replacement across every district building.
  1. Committee awaits the vestibule cost estimate; fire alarm work to begin at Fine Elementary School
  2. Softball and baseball field renovations scheduled to begin
  3. $5,000,000 for the administration building, HVAC and security vestibule in the advertised budget

Funding

Capital reserve withdrawal

Local elections & school board members

Elections & votes

Board electionScheduled

Pennsauken Township Board of Education election, November 3, 2026

Pennsauken Township

Pennsauken elects its nine-member Board of Education at the November general election, which the New Jersey Division of Elections sets as Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Two seats come up this year: the terms of Ana Matos and Matthew McDevitt both expire in December 2026, according to the board's own member directory. Winners take their seats at the board's reorganization meeting the following January.

Official source · verified Sep 30, 2026

School board members

Recent news

Board proposes to tear up the superintendent's contract and write a longer oneOct 27, 2026Phones locked in pouches for grades 6-12 from SeptemberAug 11, 2026

Built from the district's own board pages, which answer ordinary requests: the agenda and minutes archive, the board legal notices page, the budget and audit page and the corrective action plans page. Every document is a PDF on the district's Finalsite file host and is fetched directly. The district's policy manual supplies the current device and artificial-intelligence policies. These pages are re-read each week, so newly posted agendas and later minutes are picked up automatically.

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