The Hillsborough Township Board of Education (BOE) received confirmation that their application to the state for the Tax Levy Incentive Aid was approved following budget cuts for the upcoming school year. This signifies the continuation of multiple teacher positions, middle school sports, courtesy bussing and other projects that were projected to be cut under the 2025-2026 tentative budget. “I am hopeful that the action that the Board has taken will make us financially stable for several years,” said Superintendent Michael Volpe.
2025 Budget News: A timeline
April 28th, 2025
During the latest public hearing at Auten Road Intermediate School, the BOE presented a final budget, including the increase of funds provided by an increase with the Tax Levy Incentive aid. The BOE has submitted an application for the approval of Tax Levy Incentive Aid, which is pending approval by the Commissioner of the NJ DOE. A decision should be made before the next BOE meeting which is to take place on May 12th.
In order for the Tax Levy Incentive Aid to be implemented the state must first confirm the approval of the BOE’s application, the authorization of this aid must then be confirmed by the governor in his appropriation package for the coming fiscal year. Only after both the state and governor have confirmed it will the district begin to see the benefits supplied by the initiative. However if the state does not approve the BOE’s application the district would be pushed to cut both staff and programs, something that the BOE is working hard to avoid in fear that it could affect the educational experience of students. They also continue to keep in mind residents’ concerns regarding the increasing cost of living in Hillsborough.
Superintendent Michael Volpe shared, “Finally, to our students and parents who are understandably concerned about the increasing cost of living in Hillsborough, I want to say that I share your concerns not just as your Superintendent, but also as a fellow resident of this town. I understand the pressures families are facing. This situation with the Tax Levy Incentive Aid underscores a fundamental question we, as a community, need to consider: what kind of town do we aspire to be? What do we want our schools to be? I firmly believe that strong, well-funded schools are intrinsically linked to maintaining high home values and ensuring Hillsborough remains a desirable place to live and raise a family.”
Residents and BOE members work to find solutions
The board has expressed being put under pressure as the finalization date approaches, while some town members disagree on what course of action to take to cover the damage from budget cuts. During the meeting Paul Marini, president of BOE stated “This [the taxi levy solution] is very new and was only made available this past week to the district so no committees have discussed this.”
Resident Anthony Tochi expressed his frustration during the community engagement night held on April 10th, “The people you’re going up against, they own the building, they own the court, they own the rules, they actually make the rules… You’re going to come back with nothing, the only way to do this is to take the whole thing out of their hands and sue the state.”
Having to choose between something that will affect them monetarily, and the quality of education that the district’s children will receive is a dilemma that has left many individuals conflicted.
One member of the community Megan Murphy gave her input: “No one wants more taxes. I’m a teacher nearby, I can’t afford a lot more taxes. My salary is not going up but our kids are counting on us, they are counting on their community to rally around them and to provide for them.”
April 7th, 2025
Another meeting was held on April 7th further explaining the solution offered by the state, though not before the board reiterated that this was by no means the solution that they had hoped for, but the one that they were given. Tax Incentive Aid was the program offered by the state, the program is of course aimed towards districts like Hillsborough who have been affected by cuts in state aid over time. The program would require a raise of $20 million in the local tax levy. The overall plan would be to take the amount met in the general fund tax levy and have it be met with a match of 5% in state aid. For example if the general tax fund of 20 million is met the state would provide an additional $1 million in state aid for the next school year. Unfortunately, this would mean residents would have to tackle higher property taxes which has become the unquestionable root of turmoil and tension that has built up among the local population over the past few days. Closing out the meeting a 6-3 final vote cemented the ability for the board to implement the increase in taxes although nothing is set in stone as of now.
April 6th, 2025
On April 6th the Instagram account Hey.boro made a post following up the previous meeting. Both Mayor Cicarelli and Deputy Mayor Payne make an appearance and give a preliminary update to the situation that the Board of Education along with the rest of the town is facing. A mechanism had been proposed by the state as a budget solution to the major cuts being faced by the board. The solution would entail an increase of the Board of Educations taxes by up to $20 million. Although this mechanism was put forward as a solution both individuals shared the possible $200 to $5,000 increase in taxes per Hillsborough household. As of now about 64% of the resident’s tax bill goes to the Board of Education however with the implementation of this new formula over 80% of a residents tax bill would be going to the board, along with an increase of $500 to personal taxes.
Deputy Mayor Catherine Payne states “These things are part of what is making New jersey unaffordable this S2 formula is broken and absolutely needs to be reformed.”
The public leaders ensured their understanding of the difficulty and their disappointment in the broken formula that they were presented with. Mayor Cicarelli goes on to explain that he along with the Board of Education attempted to express their displeasure with the funding formula to the state and this was unfortunately the equally unappealing solution that was offered to them.
Mayor Ciccarelli also explained in the April 6th post, “The BOE and I went to the state to express our displeasure with the funding formula and this is the solution that the state has offered to allow us to increase taxes by twenty million dollars. We’ve expressed our displeasure with this solution.”
March 17th, 2025
State Aid is a vital contribution to the district’s budget, however since 2019-2020 the distributions have changed. Money that would have originally been going to fund schools and the betterment of students’ education has been allocated to different areas. On March 17, 2025 the Hillsborough Board of Education conducted a meeting in which they discussed the tentative budget for the 2025-2026 school year. Although salary increases are unknown at this time there are negotiations with the HEA in place. A calendar was created to document the important changes surrounding the budget each month, beginning with public input at board meetings in November, to a final budget hearing which takes place on April 28th. The Hillsborough BOE works to achieve a fiscally stable budget, keep current programs running, limit forced reductions within positions, and provide efficient education for all students.
The total 2025-2026 budget increased from $152,462, 337 as of last year to $153,931,103 which was based upon general funding, grants and entitlements, as well as debt service. The budget is significantly driven by several factors: 80% going to salary benefits, 7% going to transportation costs, 4% going to maintaining building grounds, and 3% going to special needs education. Hillsborough is currently going over the funds available and have to look for places where they can cut down on the rising budget. This new budget will affect the existing positions of many staff members which can be hard to process as people are in danger of losing their jobs if the school is unable to receive money from the state. An additional 500,000 dollars was cut this year which is concerning, considering a “fully funded” formula which should have moved us in the right direction, but instead did the opposite. The state formula is causing salaries and property value in Hillsborough to increase to numbers higher than before. When this data is shown to the state, they conclude that Hillsborough is a town that’s thriving above others and doesn’t require as much money. If the scenario was that salaries and property value were decreasing then the state would feel more entitled to step in and help.
Another factor that affects the budget is the state’s “local fair share” which refers to what the residents of Hillsborough should give in order to have their children access education. Currently, $123 million dollars is played by the people of Hillsborough which does not align with the state’s expectation that people of Hillsborough should be paying $150 million dollars towards education. This means that Hillsburgh is lacking the 27 million dollars needed to keep up with the state. Unfortunately, Hillsborough is unable to meet the gap in a year which makes the state funding formula unachievable. Looking at this year’s budget, the state is insisting on cutting us an additional 2.4 million out of our budget next year which brings us a step backwards. Cuts that would make the budget work for next year include: middle school sports, funds being reserved for all day kindergarten, reducing link it assessments, courtesy busing, and 24 positions. All of these possible cuts have been a cause for concern from the public.
