Dear Lenape Regional High School District Community:

We asked for advocacy from our school community, and our community delivered. Everyone’s efforts drove bipartisan support for legislation enacted to provide immediate budgetary relief to the Lenape Regional High School District.

I take great pride in leading our district, full of outstanding staff and with the support of a dedicated Board, navigating the highs and lows and every moment in between. I also understand the importance of being present, clear and public-facing through it all. That is why I am reaching out beyond our school community, to all LRHSD taxpayers, with context for a modified budget our Board and administration will set forth for Department of Education approval.

The past six years have tested LRHSD as the S2 Bill reshaped New Jersey’s school funding formula, making us repeat losers in the appropriation of State Aid. Although the daunting funding cuts totaled over $10 million, we never lost our resolve and ingenuity to provide our students and community with exceptional schools. 

But this current budgeting period presented a new set of unexpected challenges.

As we prepared for the 2024-2025 academic year, we were shocked to learn our State Aid was gutted $4.7 million, more than 14 times the anticipated decrease.

Given the new legislation, LRHSD will recover 45% of the State Aid we were set to lose ($2.1 million of the $4.7 million). Additionally, the legislation grants a one-time opportunity to increase taxes above the 2% tax levy cap, allowing us to recoup some of the equivalent funds lost due to S2.

Our administration and Board have reworked the numbers to propose a solution to restore many, though not all, of the necessary and devastating budget cuts planned for the 2024-2025 school year.  It is not feasible to restore everything, nor is it fiscally responsible to do so, in light of enrollment reductions. 

We determined that a one-time additional 5.7% increase in taxes will make it possible to fulfill our commitment to preserving the quality high school experiences our students deserve and our community expects.  With this, the Board plans to reinstate staff and programs including, but not limited to:

• Rehiring approximately 65 of 90 non-tenured staff.
• Restoring non-mandatory special education programs.
• Eliminating the proposed graduation fee.
• Maintaining clubs and stipend positions for athletics with a plan to reduce redundancies in a few of our offerings based on student and staff input.  
• Restoring bowling and gymnastics programs with significant reductions to costs and/or modifications.

We have worked tirelessly on behalf of our school community, including our taxpayers, to overcome the state’s flawed school funding formula. Examples of this in action are the careful planning that made it possible to propose the tax-neutral bond referendum in 2021, as well as our success securing nearly $16 million in grant funding since 2020.

We especially take pride in sustaining our reputation as one of New Jersey's top-performing school districts while maintaining a lean administrative structure and spending well below the state's mandated limit on administrative costs per pupil.  

Despite all this, the administration and Board understand that even the slightest increase in taxes is upsetting, which is why we remain committed to advocacy. We now set our sights on legislation aimed at creating reliable and stable methods for funding education in NJ without being overly reliant on our community’s tax dollars.

I thank you for your understanding and support.  I also want to extend my sincere gratitude to the Board, which has remained unified and committed to ensuring LRHSD is a source of pride for this community and a nurturing environment for our community’s future leaders.

Gratefully, 
Dr. Carol Birnbohm
Proud Superintendent of Schools
Lenape Regional High School District

On Tuesday, May 7, 2024, the Lenape Regional High School District (LRHSD) Board of Education adopted a $167.2 million General Fund budget for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. This budget reflects a slight 0.09% increase over the previous year. However, it also faces significant challenges, notably a reduction in State Aid by $4.7 million, equivalent to a 20% decrease. This decrease in State Aid is amidst ongoing declines in funding, an outdated funding formula, increased demands for special education, and rising operational costs due to inflation.

LRHSD Board Finance Chair David Stow underscores the board's dedication to fiscal responsibility to the eight communities it serves. The district remains one of New Jersey's top-performing school systems. Notably, LRHSD maintains a lean administrative structure, spending below the state's mandated limit on administrative costs per pupil. According to the New Jersey Department of Education’s Taxpayer’s Guide to Education, the LRHSD continues to rank as one of the best performing school districts in the state with the least number of administrators per faculty member and student, as compared to similar districts.

This year’s alarming decrease of $4,692,106 in State Aid (close to 14 times the decrease than what was anticipated) represents a concerning trend. In 1994-1995 State Aid comprised nearly 40% of the overall budget, however state aid only comprises 12.24% of the total budget for the upcoming school year.

Superintendent Carol Birnbohm noted several flaws with the way in which New Jersey funds education, “The school funding formula created in 2006 and adopted in 2008 does not address the current needs to operate schools, particularly concerning school security, transportation, the increased needs for essential services like mental health support, and our heightened reliance on advanced technological infrastructures.” Special education funding remains inadequate, with LRHSD facing a shortfall of over $4 million compared to the actual special education aid provided to LRHSD. Moreover, external factors like the tax levy cap, healthcare legislation and other external factors further strain the budget, necessitating drastic spending reductions.

To balance the budget, the board has implemented various measures, including utilizing one-time revenue sources, proposing new fees, and reducing staffing and programs by over $10 million. These measures include discontinuing support for programs like Chancelight, an alternative education program, and implementing cost-saving measures in security and non-mandated special education programs. Next year there will be a fee for graduation caps and gowns and the Board will no longer pay for optional assessments such as the PSAT or the Seal of Biliteracy Test. Parents will also have the option of purchasing a warranty for the required Chromebooks LRHSD provides for all students.

The budget also entails staffing reductions for over 100 positions through scheduling efficiencies, eliminations, retirements, and resignations and will be cutting over twenty-stipend (extra pay) positions. Additionally, certain programs such as Navy JROTC, gymnastics, bowling, and twenty clubs will be eliminated due to low enrollment or cost considerations. Stow noted that students who selected JROTC at Cherokee may opt to transfer to other JROTC programs in the district and individuals in gymnastics and bowling are eligible to qualify for the NJSIAA Individual Sectional and State Championship events.

However, the board aims to restore a significant portion of these planned cuts if crucial legislation is passed. The Assembly passed Bill A4161 and the Senate must now move forward with their version, Bill S3081. This legislation will provide immediate relief for over 140 school districts and greatly reduce the planned cuts to staffing and programs in LRHSD.

The Board and administration are committed to advocating for immediate relief as well as legislation which will improve the school funding formula for next year and beyond. Parity in funding will ensure LRHSD remains leaders in academic excellence, boasting a 97% graduation rate across its four high schools and exceeding state and national averages in various academic benchmarks, and continue to offer diverse programs to meet the needs and aspirations of all its students.

Budget information, including tax impacts for each sending district, is posted on the Lenape Regional High School District website, www.lrhsd.org. For more information, contact Business Administrator Kara Huber at 609-268-2000, ext. 556500, or khuber@lrhsd.org

In preparation for submission to the New Jersey Department of Education, the Lenape Regional High School District (LRHSD) Board of Education released the preliminary 2024-2025 school year budget. The total LRHSD 2024-2025 General Fund Operating Budget is $165,699,018, representing a decrease from the previous year.

Prior to the announcement of the Governor’s proposed budget, which reduced LRHSD’s state aid to nearly $4.7 million (a 20% reduction), the LRHSD entered the budget season with a deficit in the millions. This was due to year after year reductions to school funding, the inability to access a community’s Local Fair Share due to the tax levy cap (which has been in place since 2010); and uncontrollable factors such as decreased enrollment, increased costs for healthcare, transportation, energy, inflation, and the persistent underfunding of special education.

According to Superintendent Carol Birnbohm, Ed.D., the administration and Board of Education went to great lengths to propose a balanced budget in this challenging time. The budget put forth includes operational, programmatic, and staffing reductions including not replacing retirements, and other cost saving measures proposed by the administration and subject to approval by the Executive County Superintendent.

“Fiscal responsibility to our eight communities’ taxpayers balanced by our unwavering commitment to our students, families and staff is a hallmark of our district, even during - especially during - challenging times,” said Birnbohm.

Added Birnbohm, “We encourage citizens to reach out to Governor Murphy's office, along with the leaders of our NJ Senate and Assembly, to urge them to swiftly address the current crisis by fully reinstating our state aid. It's imperative this is done as soon as possible, in time for school districts to finalize their budgets in April. There will be cuts even if some or all of the state aid is returned to us, but those cuts will be less severe if our state aid is restored.”

Once approved by the Executive County Superintendent, the district will hold a public hearing of the budget and tax impact on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, 7:30 p.m. at the K. Kiki Konstantinos Administration and Staff Development Building, 93 Willow Grove Road, Shamong, New Jersey.

The proposed General Fund Tax Levy increase of 2.08% and no Debt Service Tax Levy increase results in the tax impact outlined below:

Evesham Township – Tax levy decrease of 1.05 cents, resulting in a decrease in regional school taxes of $26.97 on a home assessed at the township average of $272,848.

Medford Township – Tax levy increase of 1.00 cents, resulting in an increase in regional school taxes of $45.16 on a home assessed at the township average of $330,888.

Medford Lakes Borough - Tax levy increase of 4.78 cents, resulting in an increase in regional school taxes of $146.67 on a home assessed at the borough average of $289,833.

Mt. Laurel Township – Tax levy increase of 1.41 cents, resulting in an increase in regional school taxes of $37.38 on a home assessed at the township average of $238,700.

Shamong Township – Tax levy increase of 7.31cents, resulting in an increase in regional school taxes of $233.90 on a home assessed at the township average of $310,641.

Southampton Township – Tax levy increase of 3.46 cents, resulting in an increase in regional school taxes of $32.46 on a home assessed at the township average of $189,066.

Tabernacle Township – Tax levy increase of 5.26 cents, resulting in an increase in regional school taxes of $145.38 on a home assessed at the township average of $274,369.

Woodland Township – Tax levy increase of 1.00 cents, resulting in an increase in regional school taxes of $17.82 on a home assessed at the township average of $255,200.