The Jersey City Board of Education (BOE) voted 6-2 to approve a $1,027,273,122 budget for the 2025-2026 school year. This total reflects a $8.4 million decrease from the previous year’s budget. Although spending has gone down slightly, local taxes will rise. Residents will see an average monthly increase of $34.08 in property taxes.
The budget includes a two percent tax increase, which is the legal limit. However, this figure is misleading. The board also chose to use $82 million from its banked cap, a mechanism that allows the district to use unused tax increase capacity from previous years. Since that pushed the effective increase well beyond two percent, it raised concern among board members and the public.
Key Takeaways
- The Jersey City Board of Education approved a $1.03 billion budget with a 6-2 vote, cutting $8.4 million from last year while raising property taxes.
- Despite a 25% increase in payroll tax revenue, the district lost $98 million in equalization aid and faces a 3% drop in total state funding.
- Use of an $82 million banked cap pushed the real tax increase higher than the stated 2%, leading to strong criticism and demands for funding reform.
City Contributions Fall Short as State Cuts Equalization Aid
Dr. Francine C. Luce, Acting School Business Administrator, presented the final budget. She explained that despite some funding increases, the district still faces a large gap. Jersey City lost $98 million in equalization aid this year. That loss, paired with an underfunded city contribution to the district’s Local Fair Share, forced the BOE to rely more on local taxes…