N.J. school district may cut sports, slash 30+ jobs if voters don’t approve tax hike

N.J. school district may cut sports, slash 30+ jobs if voters don’t approve tax hike

Nyah Marshall

Tue, February 10, 2026 at 11:47 AM UTC

3 min read

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A Mercer County school district says it may be forced to lay off more than 30 teachers and staff and cut sports and clubs unless residents back a $5 million tax increase next month.

For the second time in recent years, Robbinsville voters will be asked to approve additional local funding for the school district. The proposal would allow the district to raise its tax levy above the state’s cap to help close a deficit that officials project will exceed $5 million over the next two years.

A special election is scheduled for March 10 for voters to weigh in on the proposed tax hike. The Robbinsville Board of Education approved the public question at a meeting last month.

For the average Robbinsville home assessed at $380,800, taxes would increase by about $43 per month, or $516 for the year, in 2026, under the plan. Taxes would increase by $39 per month, or $468 for the year, in 2027.

If the measure is not approved, the district would face a shortfall of about $2.2 million in the 2026–27 school year, forcing layoffs of up to 22 classroom teachers and nine additional staff positions.

Administrators also warned that class sizes could climb to 30 students per classroom, while Advanced Placement courses, foreign language instruction, electives, literacy programs, sports and student clubs could be scaled back or eliminated.

Because state-mandated academic programs cannot be cut, reductions would likely fall most heavily on extracurricular activities and other non-required services, local officials said.

“This referendum is not about expansion, it’s about stability,” Robbinsville Superintendent Patrick Pizzo said during a recent budget presentation. “These reductions would be felt across our schools, impacting instruction, student services and the overall learning environment.”

Robbinsville has about 3,000 students in three schools. The district operates on a roughly $65 million budget, most of which is tied to fixed costs. About 54% of the budget goes to employee salaries, and 16% funds employee benefits, according to the presentation.

District officials said the $5 million shortfall is due to a combination of declining state aid, rising health care and transportation costs, inflation and years of keeping tax increases below state limits.

State aid to Robbinsville has fallen by about $300,000 in recent years, with more reductions anticipated, administrators said. Federal funding is also uncertain.

The district also spends less per student than neighboring school systems, according to district data.

In 2018, New Jersey revised its school funding formula to redistribute aid to underfunded schools. The new formula was designed to more fairly allocate state aid based on factors like enrollment, the number of low-income students and how much a district can raise through taxes. Some schools that were considered “overfunded” experienced significant cuts in aid.

For the current school year, Robbinsville received $9.8 million in state aid. That was a decrease of nearly $304,000, or 3% compared to the previous year, according to the latest state school funding data.

Robbinsville also asked voters to approve a tax increase in 2024. Voters narrowly passed a referendum that allowed the district to raise an additional $2.75 million for the 2024–25 school year. An earlier, multi-year plan was rejected in 2023.

Next month’s special election will cost the district about $65,000 to administer, local officials said.

“This is a defining moment for the town,” Nick Mackres, the district’s business administrator, told residents. “However the vote comes out, we will lead from the front. We will adapt and we will overcome to continue the great work we do at the school.”

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