Board hears budget shortfall as health benefits spike; administration plans to seek state waiver to exceed 2% cap

The Marlboro Township Board of Education received a detailed budget briefing on anticipated cost pressures, with administrators telling the board the district’s health-benefit premiums are projected to rise about 33% next year. The administration said that calculation is driving a potential $5.2 million shortfall that would require use of a state health-benefits waiver to exceed the statutory 2% tax-levy cap without a referendum.

“At the state allows a district to exceed the 2% tax levy cap by taking the health benefits waiver,” said the administrator (speaker 2), adding the district’s preliminary estimate of the waiver amount is roughly $5,153,980. The district is modeling state aid as flat until the official numbers are released; the superintendent said aid figures were expected within days and that final budget decisions will follow that release.

Board members asked what not taking the waiver would mean for staff and programs. The administration warned a $5 million gap would force cuts or other offsets: “There would be staffing implications. There would be program implications,” the administrator said, summarizing the potential impacts if the board declined the waiver.

Administrators walked through revenue and expenditure levers: using fund balance, reallocating staff, drawing on reserves and nonrecurring items such as sale of property. The presentation also highlighted that roughly 82.5% of the budget is salaries and benefits, and that the district has lost approximately $3.9 million in state aid since 2018, shifting costs to local taxpayers.

Board members pressed for options to manage premium growth, including continued insurance shopping and employee waiver programs administered under New Jersey’s state health program. The administration said it continues to market coverage and explore alternatives but that the district’s claims experience limits vendor options.

The board did not vote on a final levy plan at the meeting; administrators said they will return with updated numbers after the state releases aid figures and proposed the preliminary budget at the next board meeting.

The board is scheduled to consider a preliminary budget following the state-aid announcement and to weigh whether to adopt the health-benefits waiver as part of the tax-levy plan.