The agenda for the September 29, 2026 special meeting asks the board to approve subcontracting the district's custodial services to an outside company effective November 1, 2026, and to approve a settlement with the East Orange Educational Support Professionals' Association that ends the subcontracting negotiations and also settles the union's COVID-19 overtime lawsuit.
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Trenton Public School District
Hillsborough Township Public School District
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Egg Harbor Township School District
Egg Harbor Township is unusual: its 2026-27 plan takes $90,304,320 in state aid against a local levy of $84,542,540, so Trenton supplies more of the general fund than local property tax does. The audited accounts record that state aid rose $3,154,496 for 2025-26 because of additional funding required to ensure fair funding, and that the levy that year created $3,995,198 of banked cap the district can draw on later. Against that, the general fund spent $4,106,276 more than it took in during 2024-25, and spending per pupil rises to $23,111 while enrolment is expected to edge down to 7,414.
Belleville's 2026-27 budget raises the local tax levy to $52,630,900 from $49,657,745, an increase of about 6%, while state aid falls slightly to $68,098,422 from $69,153,615. Unlike most New Jersey districts, Belleville depends mainly on the state: in 2024-25 state sources supplied 64% of general-fund revenue against 36% from local sources. The budget also takes $1,000,000 out of the capital reserve, which is set to fall from $4.5 million to about $3.21 million over two years, and spending per pupil rises to a planned $23,313 while enrolment drops to an estimated 4,847.
Howell Township Public School District
Howell's state-filed 2026-27 budget raises the local school tax levy to $99.4 million, up from $93.2 million, an increase of about $6.2 million or 6.7%. Over the same period the district expects 5,912 students in October 2026, down from 6,063 two years earlier. Spending per student rises to a planned $22,515, up from $21,618 in the revised 2025-26 budget.
Howell Township Public School District
The same 2026-27 budget filing shows Howell's unrestricted general operating fund balance - the district's uncommitted savings - falling from $5.67 million audited at June 30, 2024 to $4.36 million audited at June 30, 2025, then to an estimated $3.24 million in 2026 and $2.74 million in 2027. The district also plans to spend $3.5 million of prior-year money inside each of the last two budgets.
Gloucester Township School District
About seventy substitute teachers came to the June 1, 2026 meeting to protest a proposal cutting their pay by roughly 20% and removing their dental and vision coverage. They said they had been asked to sign new contracts by June 18, before the board had voted on the change. The board deferred the vote to June 29, and then tabled it rather than deciding either way, saying it did not want to rush. The board also agreed to publish a line-by-line explanation of what had been cut from the budget and why.
At a special meeting on June 9, 2026 the board authorised a $9,000,000 State School Aid Anticipation Note. New Jersey told districts it would delay the June 22, 2026 state aid payment until about July 14 or 15, and East Orange had to borrow against that payment to cover its own bills in the meantime. New Jersey law allows these short-term loans for exactly this reason, and both the state education department and the county superintendent had to approve.
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