Berkeley Heights was the first budget we received (and so far, the only one). We expect more to start rolling in by the end of the week.
This years BHPSNJ budget demonstrates progress across two of three areas we’ve been most concerned about. The most notable reduction, and worth celebrating, is the decrease in security spending which we have long argued (with evidence) drains District’s of resources better used for student-centered services and has created far more harm than benefit.
Berkeley Heights Security Spending: Actuals, Budget and Proposed
Actual security spending climbed sharply through 2025. The 2025–26 budget and 2026–27 proposed budget are both lower than the 2025 actual, but the proposed amount still remains above the 2022 and 2023 actual levels.
The question is whether the District and the BOE will hold itself accountable to this number as the 25 Budget also showed a reduction but ended up being the worst year on record from 2021 on.
Moving onto administration, while modest – we see things going in a slightly better direction when we bundle four connected lines together.
Berkeley Heights Administration Bundle
Includes General Administration, School Administration, Central Services and Administrative Information Technology.
The drop is largely due to cuts in Administrative IT.
Berkeley Heights Administrative Information Technology
Administrative Information Technology declines from 2025 actual to 2025–26 budget and then declines again in the 2026–27 proposed budget.
Athletics is our third area and while it remains essentially flat, at least it didn’t go up.
Berkeley Heights School-Sponsored Athletics
Athletics rises in the 2025–26 budget above 2025 actual spending, then falls back in the 2026–27 proposed budget.
Taken together, on these three areas the District is saving about $237k from the ACFR a modest amount the District may or may not realize by the end of the year.
So the budget is better or, at least, not worse-the BOE can do a little work to move them down further before the final is approved. If they don’t it’s still progress we can build on as long as they stick with the commitment – we’ll find out when the ACFR for the 26-27 budget year gets published.
Other Notable Items
This is based on a comparison from the 2025 ACFR to the 2026 Proposed; the 2025-2026 Budget (which has not been audited) is not part of the sequence below.
Debt service
-$1,160,141/-70.32%
Big drop, but probably more due to timing -old debt rolling off but new debt coming on
Equipment
-$249,037/-100.00%
Actual spending is pulled back to zero which means the district is not planning the same level of one-time purchases from the operating budget – a lot of that might be coming out of the bond that was voted through this year.
Tuition expense
-$319,584/-17.43%
On the expenditure side and reflects money the district pays out for students educated elsewhere; could mean mean fewer placements, lower placement costs or both.
Resource Room / Resource Center
+$472,605/+12.51%
Notable increase that more spending is being directed toward in-district special education support.
Unallocated benefits
+$492,990/+4.45%
Big increase. This is one of the more important upward pressures in the budget because it can rise even when other operating lines are flat or falling.
Custodial services
+$312,156/+11.02%
Might be pointing to higher costs tied to buildings, staffing, supplies, utilities or contract work.
Child Study Team:
+$220,984/+12.21%
This may not necessarily be a good thing as the District spends a ton in this area and there is a lot of frustration about the model being used.
Improvement of instruction services
-$92,785/-8.38%
Points to less spending on curriculum support, coaching, professional support or instructional development.
Educational media / library:
-$62,316/-10.87%
Source Materials:
26-27 Preliminary Budget
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