SPRING LAKE HEIGHTS — The Spring Lake Heights Board of Education met Monday night, approving the 2025-2026 school year budget and highlighting recent student activities and accomplishments.
The board voted to adopt a $12,492,771 budget for the 2025 to 2026 school year, compared to last year’s $12,300,381. No material changes were made to the budget since it was tentatively approved at last month’s meeting, according to Business Administrator Matthew Varley.
The approximate average assessed value of a home in Spring Lake Heights is $823,846 this year, and the increase on the average household tax bill would be approximately $131 annually, or around $10 a month, according to Varley.
The operating budget proposed for 2025-2026 is $11,595,078, showing a 2.08% increase from last year’s $11,358,611. A 3.40% increase to the local tax levy is to support the operating budget, which includes a $132,412 adjustment for increases in health care costs. According to the board, since the state approved health care adjustments of 14%, the district estimates a 14% increase in the second half of the school year, and prescription costs to increase by 23%, both of which the board noted as conservative estimates.
Debt service for the next year has slightly risen, from $744,975 last year to $749,700, a 0.63% increase, including interest and principal.
The total operating expenses proposed for next year is $11,595,078, compared to last year’s $11,358,611. Next year’s operating budget is made up of 57% instruction and tuition, 40% support, and 3% capital outlay.
There have been no staffing cuts in next year’s budget, according to Varley.
Student happenings
Students at Spring Lake Heights School have been keeping busy recently, hosting events and collaborating to celebrate the spring season and form connections with fellow students.
The Spring Lake Heights Art Show, entitled this year “Back to the ‘80s,” is set for Thursday, May 1, from 6 to 8 p.m., where students will display assorted art pieces they’ve made with the help of art teacher Kyle Forbes.
Members of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) held a book drive for the Bridge of Books Foundation, a Monmouth County-based organization that distributes books to students who are in need. As a school, 1,603 books were donated to the foundation from students and their families.
The school’s eighth-grade Peer Leaders also organized and hosted an egg hunt for the kindergarteners recently. Through the Peer Leaders program, eighth-grade student mentors serve as role models and support systems for their younger “buddies.”
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