Cliffside Park Board places resolution on rising school health-care costs on agenda

The Cliffside Park Board of Education placed a resolution on its May 18, 2026 agenda urging the governor and state legislature to provide immediate short-term relief from rapidly rising health-care costs facing school districts.

The resolution, included in the board packet, notes a Treasury Department analysis that the district said projects "active premium rate increases for 2027 are likely to be in the double digits," following a 31.9% premium increase that took effect in January 2026 and an "overall premium increase of nearly 74% in the preceding 5 years." The packet language quoted at the meeting reads, "Now therefore, be it resolved that the Cliffside Park Board of Education in the county of Bergen calls upon the governor and state legislature to provide immediate short-term relief from the unsustainable increased health care cost experienced by school districts in recent years."

Board officials told the meeting those rising premiums are squeezing district budgets and that the resolution is intended to keep pressure on state leaders and document the district's concerns. The resolution asks the state for steps to stabilize premiums so districts can continue to operate without cutting instruction or services.

The resolution was presented as part of the administration's agenda preview; the transcript shows the item on the agenda for consideration but does not record a final vote on the resolution during the portion of the meeting captured in the transcript.

What happens next: the resolution remains on the board agenda. If the board acts on it later in the meeting or at a subsequent meeting, that vote would be recorded in the minutes and any formal action would be reflected in future meeting records.