Millburn School Budget: The Price Tag Is High, The Results Are Real

We are crossing the finish line with Millburn and if you’ve been following us you know that their per pupil comes in second only to Berkeley Heights – but the two schools are not the same.

Before we get to that lets look at the few numbers we have from the District so far.

Millburn rolls in with a tentative 2026-2027 budget of $126,878,636- $117,983,823 in the general fund, $2,113,235 in special revenue, and $6,781,578 in debt service. The total local tax levy comes in at $110,263,977, with $105,798,669 from the general fund levy and $4,465,308 from debt service.

Millburn is reaching over the 2% cap for- you guessed it- healthcare costs looking down the barrel of a $3,665,400 increase in that area and is looking to fund most of that through a tax levy ($3,653,160). Additionally, there’s a $300,000 transfer from Maintenance Reserve to the general fund for maintenance and a transfer of $580,245 from Capital Reserve to General Fund Capital Outlay for capital projects. The max expenditure for travel is set at $125,000.

Like I said…big.

Millburn ranks 2nd of 7 in total cost per pupil at $30,187, 2nd of 7 in total instruction, and 3rd of 7 in total administration.

Millburn’s money is going to a strong core. It ranks 1st out of 7 in regular programs, 2nd in textbooks, and 4th in improvement of instruction.

But the big price tag also reflects that the decision making isn’t perfect.

Millburn hits the top spot for school administration, 2nd in central services, 1st in facility maintenance, and 1st in custodial services. It gets the silver medal in upkeep of grounds and the bronze in security.

So what sets it apart on the spending front? It spends comparatively less on Special Education with the total spend in the area ranking 6th out of 7 and Resource Room spending in the same spot. Learning and language disabilities also ranks 6th, speech related ranks 5th.

It also does not pour a ton into athletics where it is ranked dead last while basic skills and remedial is ranked 2nd. You know, because it’s a school.

The academic spending is strong and it becomes evident on our School Performance Dashboard. Millburn fully recovered in ELA to 84.9%, remains the top-performing district in math at 82.4%, and is way more capable of defending its higher spending than districts with weaker academic returns.

But you can still ask questions….

How does the District justify its spend on Administration?

Why are facility maintenance and custodial services both 1st?

Why is security – an odd decision in a set that otherwise appears evidence based- still 3rd in a district that’s already expensive across the board?

This is not Berkeley Heights where the spending story and the academic story are more out of sync than your Uncle (the one with the weird eye) doing the electric slide. It is not Madison, where weak rankings bring up difficult questions about ROI.

Millburn is a district that backs up the price tag with results – it’s only a question of whether every part of that profile deserves the same benefit of the doubt.

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