MARGATE – The Board of Education March 5 approved its $14.8 million 2025-2026 school year budget for submission to the county education office with a $593,604 increase in the school tax levy.
The tax rate will increase a penny to 27.2 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. A homeowner with a house assessed at $500,000 will pay $49.04 more for education in their next tax bill. A $72 million increase in the city's ssessed valuation helped keep the increase to a minumum.
The district’s total operating budget is $14,803,979, up from $13,945,375 last year. Budgeted revenues show decreases in tuition payments received from Longport. Longport will send 24 students to the Margate schools, down from 27 students last year.
The district also projects slight decreases in non-resident tuition paid to the district to educate out-of-town students and various types of state aid. The district anticipates a $53,536 increase in special education aid. Seven students will be sent out of the district to receive their education, which also increases the cost of transporting them to out-of-district schools.
The district sends 37 students to Atlantic City High School and 10 to Atlantic County Institute of Technology for a total cost of $353,841.
According to a presentation by Business Administrator Melina Skwarek, the budget maintains all education programs and staffing levels. The budget includes funding to upgrade the school buildings and enhance technology and cyber security.
The district has several capital improvements on its agenda, including $103,687 for security cameras, $144,000 for maintenance upgrades and $19,200 to purchase a new copy machine.
The district will have a 15% increase in the cost of liability and health insurance premiums and a 15% increase in the cost of gas and electric.
Local taxpayers fund most of the budget. The district, which is considered affluent with just 6.7% of its student body eligible for free and reduced lunch, receives less than 4% in state and federal funding for education.
The board’s approval March 5 allowed the district to submit the budget to the county superintendent’s office for approval before it is presented to the Board of School Estimate, which includes members of the Board of Commissioners.
Superintendent Ryan Gaskill said the board’s approval is the “first step” in getting the budget finalized.
He thanked Skwarek for her work formulating the budget and asked school employees and board members to attend the Board of School Estimate meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, March 24 at Historic City Hall, 1 S. Washington Ave.
“We hope people will be there to support our school budget,” he said.
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