Dennis, Middle Face Tough Choices on Spending
School district officials in Dennis and Middle townships were left to pick up the pieces after their hopes for increased funding for their schools were shattered in special elections Sept. 17.
Measures that would have increased their school tax levies to support spending plans that were above state tax cap limits, in Dennis’ case, or that required approval of new bond debt in Middle were overwhelmingly turned down.
The vote against the ballot measure in Dennis was 81%. In Middle, it was 66%.
School district officials had outlined the possible consequences of defeat after they introduced the funding measures earlier this year.
Dennis school officials said they might have to shut down preschool and kindergarten programs and might send students in grades 6-8 to Middle Township schools. They said class sizes would reach “unmanageable levels,” and that as an overall result of the defeat they would not be able to provide students with the “thorough and efficient” education the state constitution says must be provided.
In Middle, school district officials said needed repairs and improvements would increase pressure on the schools budget, long waiting lists to get into the pre-K program would continue, and the district would not be able to best serve its students, which might lead to declining enrollment and less funding. Officials said there might be staff and services cutbacks.
Dennis Township
The Dennis School District asked voters to approve an addition to the tax levy of $2.2 million, which would have been a permanent addition to the tax base. The tax impact of the proposal would have burdened property taxpayers with an annual increase of $484 on a home with taxable value at $200,000, as much as $726 annually for a home at $300,000, and $968 for a property valued at $400,000. A school board presentation stated that the average home in the township has a taxable value of $328,000.
In a press release posted sometime before the vote, the school district said that the district “is now at this crossroads,” with the reference being to the ability of the district to meet its constitutional obligation under New Jersey law to provide a “thorough and efficient” education for its students.
A referendum presentation by the school board on Aug. 13 stated: “Without the referendum, DT schools budget is NOT thorough and efficient.” That admission by the board to deficiencies in its ability to finance a “thorough and efficient” education could open avenues for the county or state to become involved.
In a document titled “Memo on Referendum and Timing of Tax Impact,” the school district outlined several possible outcomes of a referendum measure defeat.
The district says it anticipates a “need to close the preschool and most likely kindergarten programs” in order to relocate its education programs to one building. The district has two schools, the Primary School and the Elementary/Middle School.
The district also says it anticipates that students in grades 6-8 will attend school in Middle Township. Even if the district moves some students to Middle Township, Dennis will continue to discuss accepting Woodbine students into its programs.
The impact of the failed referendum measure also extends to the classrooms, where, the district says, “Class sizes have ballooned to unmanageable levels, to over 35 students in certain grades.”
“The district admits that the fund balance will be depleted for the 2025-2026 budget cycle. Such a depletion could impact the district’s bond rating and ability to borrow at low rates.”
Dennis has faced a 75% drop in state aid since 2018-2019. From a high of $5.8 million that school year, state aid has decreased each year to its present level of $1.5 million in the 2024-2025 budget. Pandemic relief funds helped postpone a reckoning, but those have now run out.
District officials admit that many changes in services for students were implemented in the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 budget cycles. When Senate Bill 2 (SB2), which prescribed the state aid reductions, took effect in 2018, it was clear what the cuts would be over what time period.
Then-Senate President Steve Sweeney said the gradual nature of the reductions were intended to give school districts time to adjust to less state aid. The push that came with SB2 included some funding for consolidation or regionalization studies and a strong incentive for increasing shared services.
A mother of a 4-year-old called the referendum result a “bummer,” noting that when she and her husband showed up at the polls to vote they immediately sensed the referendum measure had little chance of passage. Everyone around them was against the measure.
She said she is keeping her son on day care for another year but is unsure what the landscape will look like next year for pre-K or even kindergarten.
Another resident, with no school-age children, said the township took too long to respond to the state cuts. “They have known for years what was coming,” she said. “They made service and staff cuts that were not sustainable.”
She faulted the school board, which she felt had several years to plan for a softer landing and instead left the township’s schools in dire straits.
Middle Township
Middle’s district runs a full pre-K to 12 program. It hosts one of Cape May County’s five public high schools, and school boards from several neighboring municipalities send students to Middle, including Dennis Township.
If the proposed bonding for $26.5 million was approved, its cost to Middle taxpayers was estimated at an additional $165 per year for the average assessed home, at $251,000. This would have been a minimum 20-year addition to the base tax levy on which annual operating expense tax increases would be calculated.
The district planned to use the bond funds for an addition and renovations to Elementary School #1 in order to expand pre-K, for moving second grade to renovated space and an addition at Elementary School #2, for upgrading 16 unit ventilators in the two buildings and for making $4.9 million in upgrades to athletic facilities, with most of that going for synthetic turf at Memorial Field.
Middle Township Schools Superintendent David Salvo said that a major goal of the bond issue was increasing the district’s enrollment by bringing more pre-K students into the system and hoping that would lead to continuation of those students in district schools.
At a public forum on the referendum measure held Aug. 28, Salvo described the relationship between pre-K enrollment and state aid: “Every child is a dollar amount.” He was referring to the fact that each child in the program is paid for by the state, to encourage such programs.
Middle officials placed a “Frequently Asked Questions” page on the district website. Under what happens if the measure did not pass, the district listed four outcomes:
–If some improvements to the two elementary schools need to be made anyway, regular budget funds would have to be used to offset the $3 million the state would have given the district to support the proposed school additions and renovations if the referendum measure was approved.
–Outdated HVAC and lighting equipment will “continue to need costly patches,” meaning they will be burdens on the general fund budget of the school district.
–Waiting lists for pre-K will continue. Salvo said more than 100 families had students on a waiting list for expanded pre-K. Inadequate space for small-group instruction would continue as well.
–The district would be unable to best serve its students’ needs, which could result in lost enrollment and less funding. Salvo even held out the possibility of staff and service reductions.
The Q&A did not mention the athletic fields.
A resident from Court House said he was encouraged to see the turnout, calling it “a true exercise in democracy.” He noted there were a number of young families with children at his polling location. Overall, he said, “I know the Board of Education learned nothing.” He called the board “brash.”
Another township resident, from Rio Grande, also criticized the school board and administration. He said he has attended school board meetings where the board leaves citizens to wait for extended periods while it goes into closed session. “They act like we work for them,” he said.
A woman from the Whitesboro section of the township said school officials did not make the case “that $26 million in new debt would result in improved education for the students.”
One resident called school funding in New Jersey a “mess” that often leaves the homeowner with the “short end of the stick.”
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
