CRANFORD — The Cranford Board of Education voted Monday to adopt its 2024-2025 budget as approved by the Executive County Superintendent, in the total amount of $78,788,827, after a public hearing that evening. The proposed tax increase is $206.34 on the average assessed home value of $187,168.
A total of $65,995,027 should be raised for the general fund levy and $658,029 should be raised for the debt service fund levy for local schooldistrict purposes for the 2024-2025 school year. That makes the total 2024-2025 tax levy amount. The board passed a resolution approving the amounts as well as a schedule of the payments.
BusinessAdministrator/Board Secretary Robert Carfagno and Assistant Superintendent Brian Heineman, Ed.D., presented the budget to the board and residents. The presentation included an introduction, which explained that, despite financiallychallenging times, the district remains committed to providing students with outstanding educational opportunities, exceptional teachers, and knowledgeable, caring and competent leaders. The fiscal goal for the budget is to continue to achieve established goals, comply with the spirit and intent of the state’s tax-reduction efforts, to provide students with the highest quality educational programs, and to maintain qualities that make Cranford special.
“I think this budget adheres to the fiscal goals outlined in the beginning of the presentation,” board member Patrick Lynch said. “It’s a fiscallyresponsible budget.”
Typically, the largest portion of a school-district budget is for employee salaries and benefits. For the 20242025 school year, salaries account for approximately 81 percent of the general fund budget. The total general fund budget is $76,756,841, compared to the 2023-2024 general fund budget, which was $75,010,159. Employee benefits include health insurance, workers compensation insurance, payments, unemployment compensation, Social Security payroll taxes, other contractual commitments such as tuition reimbursement, and all other state-mandated contributions. Other components of the general-fund budget include out-ofdistrict tuition costs (5 percent), transportation costs (5 percent), energy costs (1 percent), student related/extraordinary services (1 percent) and liability insurance (1 percent).
There was a 2.3-percent increase in the general fund budget, which is over the 2-percent cap that the state has established with the intent to reduce costs. One board member asked if there was a way to show that the district has stayed under the 2-percent limit until this year.
While the district has been receiving increases in state aid over the last few years, including a projected increase in the 2024-2025 budget, a total of $531,545 in additional state aid has been allocated over the last two budget years to satisfy the district’s obligation to meet its Chapter 44 health-benefit savings responsibility, which must be applied directly to taxpayer relief. This increase went to offset the balance.
The district anticipates receiving a total of $1,106,641 in Federal Entitlement Grants during the 2024-2025 school year.
“I try to get grants, but it’s all poverty driven,” Mr. Carfagno explained when he informed residents about how the process works. These funds are primarily used for special-education out-of-district tuition costs and related services, professional development, and salaries through September 30, 2024 (end of the grant period) for a middle-school bridge counselor, an additional nurse and a director of data/learning acceleration.
“Nobody wants a tax increase,” said Board President Kurt Petschow. “I’ve talked to other districts who have cut 50 to 60 programs, and this will be another year that we have not had to cut any programs or cut down any class sizes.”
During the public-comment portion of the meeting, a resident expressed concerns about how the dis- trict used extra days to integrate them into the calendar.
“I’ve been hearing some rumors about how the district used some unused school days,” Cranford resident Mark Zucker said. “It’s about how we are plugging them in instead of, like other districts, who are shortening the school year. I was wondering what the logic was behind putting them into the school year as opposed to shortening it.”
“I’d be surprised if the majority of schools are shortening their school years,” said Superintendent Scott Rubin, Ed.D. “It becomes difficult because you need 180 school days in order to have a graduation. The problem becomes moving those days when people have already made plans, so it becomes difficult not only because you need 180 days for graduation, but also because you have all of these big events that people already planned.”
The board also welcomed Ron Litz as the new principal of Bloomingdale Avenue School. He and his family attended the meeting, where Mr. Litz introduced himself. He said he looks forward to working with his new school family and collaborating with the dedicated staff, parents and students to continue a strong schoolhome connection.
