MARGATE – The Board of School Estimate March 26 approved a $15.3 million budget for the 2026-2027 school year approved by the Atlantic County Executive Superintendent of Schools earlier in the week.
Members of the board include the three commissioners along with Board of Education President Joseph Pepe and Vice-president Jack Sorensen. Other school board members, administrators and teachers attended the budget hearing.
The budget carries a 5.02% increase in the tax levy ($12,079,564), mostly driven by an increase in tuition for students attending Atlantic City High School, along with a 15% increase in the cost of transportation and a 23% increase in health and liability insurance.
The new school tax rate is $.283 per $100 of assessed valuation, up from $.272 last year. Margate taxpayers will pay an additional $11 per $100,000 of assessed valuation for education.
Margate pays 16.56% of its total tax bill for education, compared to 28.58% in Ventnor and 55.21% in Northfield.
The budget maintains all existing educational, athletic and co-curricular activities, provides enough funding to maintain the district’s two schools, and provides for enhanced technology and cyber security, Business Administrator Melina Skwarek said.
Tuition accounts for 11.4% of budgeted appropriations totaling $15,161,229. Tuition to Atlantic City High School is $1,114,261, up 13% or $800,000 over last year. The district also pays tuition for private school placements, Atlantic City and Cape May County Special Services School Districts and Atlantic County Institute of Technology for a total tuition amount of $1.7 million.
Superintendent Ryan Gaskill said the district was “blindsided” by the increase in high school tuition, and that conversations about controlling costs are ongoing with officials at Atlantic City school district.
“This has been a tough budget year,” he said.
The budget is also impacted by a loss of $200,000 in tuition revenue paid for Longport students. Longport has 21 students attending the Margate schools. The district also had a 13% decrease in state aid.
To control costs, the district will spend 70% less on capital improvements this year, Skwarek said. The only capital expenditure will be $51,000 to upgrade the network and camera switches.
Gaskill outlined goals for the future, which is to maintain Margate’s quality of education in a fiscally sound and secure manner for all students and allow them to reach their full potential, educationally, socially and emotionally.
He addressed talk about consolidation of school districts, which likely would not happen anytime soon. First, legislation would have to be approved, the Atlantic County Superintendent would have to develop consolidation plans, and feasibility studies conducted for each consolidation plan.
Forced consolidation would only be possible if there were both an educational benefit for students and a financial benefit for taxpayers. But with only 16.56% of the tax bill going toward education, financial benefits would likely not be proven, he said.
“At this point, I find it hard to believe that consolidation would benefit our students and our taxpayers,” he said.
Commissioner Cathy Horn, who works at Atlantic City High School, said there was a feasibility study done years ago that showed consolidation would not benefit Margate.
She credited Skwarek for her exemplary work on the budget.
“She is the wizard behind the curtain and is extremely fiscally responsible,” Horn said.
Copyright Fideri News Network 2026
