The Haddonfield school district expects a decrease in state aid of more than $70,000 – or 2.16% – for the 2025-’26 year.
Total aid for fiscal year 2026 will be a little over $3.3 million, a reduction of $72,873 from last year, when state aid was $3.38 million. This year, due to efforts by state officials to control both reductions and increases, most schools will see cuts of no more than 3% and increased aid of no more than 6%.
Notable exceptions include schools and districts impacted by different aid categories, such as students with military connections and school-choice students, that are based on enrollment.
Though the district and the board of education have yet to release a public statement on the aid loss, Business Administator Michael Catalano explained that less state funding will “adversely” impact next year’s budget.
“Obviously, it’s less money we have next year, but that’s just one more challenge that we have during our budget process,” he reported. “For us, $72,000 is something that isn’t earth shattering, but just another challenge.”
The next board of education meeting will be a work session at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Haddonfield Memorial High School library, where the board will create a tentative budget for next year. Adoption of the financial plan is expected at the May 1 meeting.
Meanwhile, Catalano said work has already begun on figuring out how to best balance the budget with the lower funds.
“We’re looking everywhere in our budget,” he promised.
