Dear Collingswood Community,
Yesterday, the NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) informed school districts of the amount of state funding aid they will receive for the 2025-26 school year. For Collingswood, the NJDOE will be providing $10.9 million in funding for 2025-26, which is $105,593 less than in 2024-25.
What this means is that if Collingswood Public Schools were to maintain this year’s staff, programming, and services next school year, the District would be in a $3.6 million deficit due to structural challenges with school funding and large inflationary costs since the pandemic. Because state law requires that school districts maintain a balanced budget, the District must make difficult but necessary decisions in the coming months to ensure that the budget is balanced.
In an effort to close this impending budget deficit, the Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution on February 10th requesting that the Borough of Collingswood provide $3 million in additional revenue along with a portion of current and future PILOT funding to the District. We have also invited the Collingswood Commissioners to meet with the full Board of Education to discuss the Board’s request for financial assistance during our March 10th public meeting.
Though many of our surrounding districts are facing similar deficits for the next school year, the Borough of Collingswood has the ability to close the gap for this coming year by raising additional tax revenue for the District. The Board’s February 10th resolution can be read on the District website (link).
As we await word from the Commissioners on how much additional funding they will commit to our schools, the District will continue to plan and budget for the next school year under the current fiscal reality. District staff are beginning the difficult process of determining and carrying out cuts to programming, services, and staffing for the 2025-26 school year to maintain a balanced budget.
The Board of Education must introduce and submit a preliminary balanced budget to the Camden County Executive Superintendent for their review and approval in March. This process will take place at our March 10th public meeting, where a budget that reflects $3.6 million in cuts will be submitted. However, specific program and staffing cuts will not be finalized until later in April, and additional revenue can still be added to the budget prior to finalization.
Despite our efforts to limit costs, bring in grant revenue, and advocate to the state for more funding, our district and the Collingswood community now face a serious and difficult situation. No board nor district ever wants to cut programming, services, or staffing. Not only do our own children and community suffer, but so do our dedicated teachers, staff, and administrators.
As the District proceeds with the budgeting process and awaits word from the Commissioners about additional school funding, there will be several upcoming opportunities for you to make your voices heard:
* March 3rd at the Commissioners’ monthly meeting,
* March 5th at the Commissioners’ Town Hall meeting,
* March 10th at the Board of Education’s preliminary budget meeting,
* March 13th at the Board of Education roundtable, and
* March 24th at the Board of Education’s monthly meeting.
We thank the dedicated teachers, staff, and administrators; the Collingswood community; and the Collingswood Commissioners for their hard work and support as we navigate this difficult challenge. We remain fully committed to providing the best possible education to our students given the resources that are available and will continue to advocate at the local, county, and state levels for additional funding for our schools and children.
Sincerely,
Roger Chu and Kate Seltzer
President and Vice President, Collingswood Board of Education