The Middletown Township (New Jersey) School District is trying to decide whether it should raise school taxes by 10% or close two elementary schools and a middle school.
The Asbury Park Press reports that the district has faced unrest since the prospect of closing the schools was proposed earlier this year.
New Jersey officials have informed the Middletown District that it could raise local taxes by 10.1% to fill a $10 million hole in its $197 million budget for the coming school year, Superintendent Jessica Alfone says.
The one-time 5.2% increase that would be allowed by the state would be added to the tentative 4.88% tax increase proposed for the 2025-26 school year, bringing the total increase to 10.1%, the superintendent said.
The budget hole has led school officials to discuss the possibility of closing the Leonardo and Navesink elementary schools to help make up the difference, and moving Bayshore Middle School students to Thorne and Thompson middle schools. The Bayshore Middle School campus would then be used as an elementary school, under a proposal introduced by Alfone.
The superintendent said another possibility would be cutting 120 jobs, increasing class sizes to about 28 to 30 students, eliminating athletics transportation and elementary school band, and reducing sports and co-curricular programs.
Since 2010, enrollment in the Middletown district has declined from about 10,000 students to 8,500, The Two River Times reports. But, Alfone says, the district is “still operating at a capacity and a footprint meant for over 10,000 kids,” Alfone explained.
Additionally, the average age of school buildings in Middletown is 76 years, meaning the district is facing a long list of costly repairs and upgrades.
“The bottom line is there are a significant number of our buildings, particularly at the elementary level, that need a tremendous amount of repair,” Alfone said. "We are at the point in time where we have to determine, is it worth it to rehab buildings?"
District leaders are holding several community forums to gather feedback ahead of a final decision in late April on the budget and the proposed school closings.
