Guest Post by Neal Shah, BOE Candidate – 3-Year Term
Picture this. It’s a chilly morning next year. You grab the mail, toss a few flyers aside, and there it is a white envelope from the township. The school tax bill. You expect the usual small bump, maybe two percent. You open it… and your stomach drops. One word jumps out: “Increase.”
No shiny new snowplows. No upgraded turf field. So what gives?
Trenton passed a voucher-style law. That means state funding will follow kids wherever they go not just to private schools, but also to charter schools and even public schools in other districts through “school choice” programs. When students leave, part of our state aid goes with them. To make up the gap, our local levy swells.
Florida’s already been here. Two years after going all in on universal choice, they’re spending around $3.9 billion a year. Districts that once bragged about low taxes are cutting electives and warning homeowners to expect higher bills. In New Jersey where we already have the nation’s highest property tax rate at 2.23 percent the squeeze would hit us even faster.
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The “Two Percent Cap” That’s More of a Loophole
It sounds simple: school taxes can’t go up more than two percent a year. But the law actually works more like a running tab over three years. If the Board of Education raises taxes less than two percent one year, they can stash the leftover amount in a “cap bank.” Later, they can use that banked amount on top of a new increase no public vote needed.
Here’s how East Brunswick played it:
• 2023-24 Levy up 1.93 percent. The leftover 0.07 percent (about $330,000) goes into the cap bank.
• 2024-25 Board taps into the new 2 percent plus 2.10 percent from past banked amounts. That’s a 4.10 percent hike.
• Today 0.78 percent remains in the cap bank about $1.15 million available until the 2026-27 budget.
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What $1.15 Million Means at Your Kitchen Table
• 2024-25 total levy: $147,019,950
• Cap bank left: 0.78 percent = $1,147,800
• Occupied homes in EB: 18,181
That’s about $63 per household around $16 a quarter. Not back-breaking if it’s blended into a normal year’s bill, but a real sore spot if it’s stacked on top of other increases.
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Why November’s Election Is the Fork in the Road
The people you elect to the Board of Education will decide whether next year’s tax letter reads “We regret to inform you…” or “We planned ahead, and here’s your cushion.”
When you see candidates at your door or at a debate, try asking:
• Do you speak budget or just bumper sticker?
• How many choice-leaving students equal a $3 million aid loss?
• Have you mapped how many charter, private, and out-of-district public school seats are within 15 miles to know if we’ll lose or maybe gain students?
Because once the cap bank is empty, the choices shrink to three: raise taxes again, cut teachers, or borrow money.
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Seeds for a Smarter Plan
1. Run simple “what if” tests what happens if enrollment rises or falls by 10 percent? Share results in plain English.
2. Build a rainy day reserve worth two percent of our state aid so we’re ready when funding drops.
3. Set class size guideposts that trigger action before rooms get overcrowded.
4. Ask Trenton for “impact aid” now, while school choice bills are still being written.
5. Publish a quarterly snapshot levy, cap bank, class sizes, reserves so facts outrun rumors.
Skip these steps and the big conversation next year will be: which elective gets cut first?
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One Envelope, Two Futures
That envelope on your kitchen table holds two possible futures. In one, the increase is small, cushioned by planning. In the other, it’s a jump paired with staff cuts and bond talk because planning never happened.
Election Day is your steering wheel. Grip it. Because preparation not just optimism is what keeps classrooms running, teachers balanced, and property values steady when voucher roulette spins our way.
