Montclair Schools Project a $3.7m Gap for 2027-28, and the District Says Cuts Alone Won't Close It

Montclair's school district hasn't started writing its 2027-28 budget yet. It already knows it's about $3.7 million short.

District leaders laid out early projections at the Nov. 9 Board of Education meeting. They expect 2027-28 revenue of $161,935,759 against budgeted spending of $166,903,545, a gap of $4,967,786, according to the superintendent's presentation. The district has $1,256,323 in banked cap from prior years, which lets it raise the school tax levy above the usual limit. Even after using all of it, the district projects it will still be about $3.71 million over cap.

The squeeze comes from New Jersey's 2 percent cap on yearly growth in the local school tax levy. Nearly every major cost is rising faster than that, the district said. Health insurance is projected to climb at five times the cap rate, and it adds $2,089,113 to the gap; salaries add $1,525,266. On the other side of the ledger, state aid is assumed to stay flat, extraordinary aid is shrinking and no fund balance is available. The presentation puts projected revenue growth at 1.6 percent and spending growth at 4.8 percent.

That is why district leaders call it a structural deficit: the gap is built into the budget and comes back every year. "Cuts cannot fix a structural issue," the presentation says, adding that one-time reductions close one year's gap only for it to return the next.

Nothing has been decided. The district named three paths to close a recurring gap: finding new revenue, advocating for a change in the state aid funding formula and looking for more cost savings. The presentation also notes that waivers may be available for health insurance increases, and that voters can be asked to approve a separate proposal to raise the levy further.

Residents get a say before the numbers are set. The district's budget priorities survey opens Monday, Nov. 16, and runs through Monday, Dec. 21, at 8 p.m. It is open to families, staff, students and residents, and asks which programs matter most and how people view new revenue and cost savings. The district said the responses will go to the Board of Education and help shape the 2027-28 budget. Questions can be sent to MPSFeedback@Montclairps.org.

Source: Montclair Public Schools.

Photo: Kidfly182 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped.