Articles Taxes and budget
The School Budget and Facilities, Explained
School tax is about two-thirds of every Montgomery property tax bill. The 2026-27 school budget raises $97,441,969 in local taxes for operations, up 6.37%, and the district is working through roof and HVAC repairs, including at the high school, ahead of a referendum it has targeted for November 2027. The elected Board of Education decides all of this, not the Township Committee. The figures, the facilities record, and what is not known.
Who decides
The Montgomery Township School District is governed by an elected Board of Education. The board, not the Township Committee, adopts the school budget and the school tax levy, awards repair and construction contracts, submits the district’s long-range facilities plan to the state and decides whether to ask voters to approve a building referendum. The township’s role is to collect the school tax on each property tax bill and pass it to the district. Residents who want to weigh in on school spending do so at Board of Education meetings, and by voting in its elections and any referendum.
The 2026-27 budget
From the district’s advertised budget and the state’s User Friendly Budget summary:
| 2025-26 (revised) | 2026-27 | |
|---|---|---|
| General fund | $111,228,214 | $117,514,863 |
| Total budget, all funds | $118,675,589 | $123,602,908 |
| Local tax levy for operations | $91,602,856 | $97,441,969 |
| Local tax levy for debt service | $5,256,913 | $4,372,126 |
| State aid, general fund | $10,261,701 | $10,428,399 |
| Debt service fund | $5,947,273 | $4,916,648 |
| Pupils on roll (October 15) | 4,281 (2025 actual) | 4,266 (2026 estimate) |
How the levy grew 6.37%. The district’s hearing presentation builds the operating levy from last year’s $91,602,856:
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2% allowed growth | $1,832,057 |
| Health-care cost adjustment | $3,131,093 |
| Unused levy authority (“banked cap”) “due to expire 2025-2026” | $875,963 |
| Total increase | $5,839,113 (6.37%) |
The presentation reports “Total Reductions: $4,422,581” from initial requests, and that salaries and benefits are “82.2%” of current expense. One slide prints the new levy as “$97,411,969”; the advertised budget and the state summary both give $97,441,969, which matches the slide’s own dollar increase. The budget had no voter question: the November 3, 2026 ballot carries no public question.
Montgomery and Rocky Hill. The regional district serves both towns. The state summary estimates Montgomery’s total school levy at $99,448,203 (an estimated school tax rate of 2.4535 per $100) and Rocky Hill’s at $2,274,609.
Reserves. The advertised budget’s balances show the district drawing on its reserves:
| Reserve | June 30, 2025 | June 30, 2026 (est.) | June 30, 2027 (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital reserve | $9,676,163 | $7,468,493 | $5,201,133 |
| Maintenance reserve | $2,667,873 | $2,112,373 | $1,387,473 |
| Legal reserve | $8,313,255 | $4,113,255 | $0 |
The budget documents do not explain the use of the legal reserve.
Adoption. After a public hearing on April 28, 2026, the board adopted the budget 7-0 with two abstentions. All nine members were present; the minutes record that the motion carried with the exception that “Dr. Wang and Ms. Nargund abstained,” so Franco-Herman, Harris, Nunez, Pfeffer, Spina, Todd and Worland voted yes. The minutes give no reason for the abstentions. At the hearing resident Raj Koltur handed the board a signed petition; the Montgomery News reported it had 445 signatures and identified possible savings, figures LocalWhy has not checked against the district’s records. The minutes record another speaker, Catherine Gural of Belle Mead, asking the board to reject the petition because of its effect on special services, and Montgomery’s Deputy Mayor, Vince Barragan, speaking “about protecting teachers, students and Special Education funding” and offering “the opportunity to partner with the Township on some shared services to reduce costs.”
Where it sits on the tax bill
Montgomery’s 2026 general tax rate is 3.607 per $100 of assessed value. The regional school rate is 2.457 of that, about 68% by LocalWhy’s arithmetic; the county takes 0.609 and the township 0.541. On the township’s average assessed home of $505,749, the school rate works out to about $12,426 for calendar 2026 (LocalWhy’s arithmetic). The Montgomery News reported “about $12,408.55” in school taxes for the average resident for the school year.
Facilities
State grants and reserves. On October 14, 2025 (item 3.17), on four state Schools Development Authority grant offers, the board authorized paying the district’s local share from its capital reserve. The projects and their total costs are high school HVAC $1,790,250 (grant $716,100), Lower Middle School HVAC $1,989,100 (grant $795,640), Upper Middle School roofs $1,923,150 (grant $769,260) and Upper Middle School HVAC $465,050 (grant $186,020). The grants total $2,467,020 by LocalWhy’s sum; the local share, $3,700,530, comes from the capital reserve. The 2026-27 budget lists high school HVAC ($1,074,150) and Lower Middle School HVAC ($1,193,460) as grant-eligible capital projects. On April 28, 2026 (item 3.18) the board awarded the Upper Middle School partial roof replacement to Punjab Restoration Co. for $755,000.
The high school roof. On August 25, 2026 (item 3.4) the board approved Core Mechanical, “not to exceed $45,301.03, for urgent repairs to the MHS roof top HVAC unit #8.” At the September 15, 2026 meeting, the minutes record, the Director of Facilities “provided an update on the current roofing project at Upper Middle School and the need for repairs and roof replacements at the High School.”
The October 13, 2026 agenda. The minutes of this meeting are not yet posted, so these items are described as the agenda lists them:
- 3.14: “Authorize Early Termination of Solar PPA with Vanguard Energy Partners, LLC in the amount not to exceed $31,134.79.” A power-purchase agreement (PPA) is generally a contract under which a company owns solar panels on a building and sells the power they make to the building’s owner.
- 3.13: “Garland/DBS, Inc. for District wide roof repairs in excess of $17,500,” under cooperative pricing; no total is stated.
- 3.10: emergency repair of a leaking fire-sprinkler head in “the B Wing/Upstairs area” of the high school on September 17, not to exceed $10,000.
- 3.11: emergency mold remediation and air sampling at Orchard Hill, not to exceed $27,436.00.
- 3.9: Upper Middle School accessible walkways, Diamond Construction, $324,000.
- 3.15 and 3.16: the annual Comprehensive Maintenance Plan and the state facilities checklist.
- 3.19: the 2027-28 budget calendar.
Headline News reported on October 20 that the high school’s solar lease ends in November, that the company then has up to 180 days to remove its panels, and that roof leaks “in a portion of Wing B” led the district to have that section removed early. It reported that the board approved the action agenda “but not unanimously,” and gave no vote count or dollar figure for item 3.14.
On items 3.15 and 3.16, Headline News reported that the Business Administrator said the reports were still being prepared and there was “nothing to share yet,” that the submission “really doesn’t need board review or board feedback,” and that delaying could make the district late with a required filing. Members Nunez and Wang objected to authorizing documents they had not seen; Wang said, “I cannot put my name on something I’ve never seen.” Vice President Spina cautioned that more detailed requests could pull the board into operational matters. No motion to table was made. Headline News reported that Nunez voted no on items 3.15 and 3.16 and Wang voted no on item 3.15, that both items passed, and that “the remaining action items received the votes necessary for approval.” It gave no vote count. The minutes of the October 13 meeting, which will have the full roll call, are not yet posted.
A referendum in 2027. At the August 26, 2025 meeting, the committee minutes record, “November 2027 was identified as the next possible ballot opportunity.” On December 16, 2025 the minutes record “it was understood that November 2027 would be the date targeted for public vote,” and the board authorized submission of its Long Range Facilities Plan (item 3.6). On September 15, 2026 the committee “reviewed the district’s Long Range Facilities Plan for the upcoming budget cycle.” No referendum amount or project list has been made public.
K-4 realignment. The district has studied restructuring Orchard Hill and Village schools into a K-4 program. The February 24, 2026 minutes set a decision timeline “in the spring of 2026 for a 2027-2028 academic year start.” The September 15, 2026 minutes refer to “the potential K-4 Realignment Project for the 2028-2029 school year,” a year later.
Ties to the township
- PILOTs. Under state law, the schools receive no direct share of a payment in lieu of taxes beyond the land tax unless the township contracts with the board; see PILOTs.
- State land. The district has asked for the state parcel next to the high school stadium; see state lands.
- School debt. The township’s 2025 statutory debt statement lists Local School District debt of $17,090,000 and Regional School District debt of $8,772,050.40, both fully deducted from the township’s debt limit; see township debt.
What is not known
- The adopted form and vote on item 3.14, until the October 13 minutes post.
- The solar agreement’s term and buyout formula, and whether “Somerset Solar I LLC” (paid $164,083.93 on the June 16, 2026 bills list) is part of the same arrangement.
- The total for district-wide roof repairs, and the scope, cost and timing of a high school roof replacement, including whether it goes into a referendum.
- The Long Range Facilities Plan text, the referendum amount and its projects.
- Why the legal reserve is drawn to zero.
- K-4 realignment costs, transportation and attendance zones.
What residents can do
- Attend Board of Education meetings. Agendas and minutes are posted on the board’s site; the next business meeting date had not been posted as of October 29, 2026.
- Follow the 2027-28 budget. The calendar was on the October 13 agenda; the tentative budget and public hearing come in the spring.
- Ask for the records. The solar agreement and the facilities plan can be requested from the district under the Open Public Records Act.