Frequently Asked Questions

The state uses a formula to decide how much aid each district gets. That formula looks at the total income and property values of everyone in town and decides how much we should pay locally. For West Orange, that number keeps going up — roughly 9% per year. But state law only lets us raise taxes by 2%. So the state expects more, sends less aid, and the gap grows every year.

On top of that, costs the district can't control — health insurance (+17.8% FY27), special education tuition (+6%), transportation — keep going up. The FY27 budget eliminated approximately 77 positions across the district. Without structural change at the state level, future budgets face the same pressure.

Yes we can explore options, but we can't entirely cover the gap with taxes. State law caps tax increases at 2% per year. The district has limited "banked cap" available (saved taxing room from prior years). It did receive some healthcare-adjustment eligibility this year but used only a portion of it.

A voter referendum is possible but faces hurdles: if it's for saving programs, it must be tied to specific line items rather than the general fund.

The formula uses aggregate income — total income of all residents, not median income — which can overstate a community's ability to pay. A handful of high earners pull the number up, making the whole town look richer than most families actually are.

Home values rising faster than incomes makes it worse. The formula sees higher property values and says "this town can afford more" — but homeowners don't have more money just because their house is worth more on paper. Switching to median income, capping outliers, or using multi-year averages are all reform options under discussion at the state level.

The BOE faces a genuinely difficult situation — the state formula is the primary driver, and that's not something the district controls. But there are areas where we believe the BOE can and should do more:

• The healthcare cost levy adjustment (N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-3d) allows additional revenue for health benefit increases. The district used a fraction of what was available this year.
• Community involvement in setting budget priorities — when there's a multi-million dollar gap, the community should have a voice in the tradeoffs being decided, not just hear about them after the fact.
• They owe us a multi-year plan about how we're going to address budget crisis — what are we planning to cut in what order, and have the teachers and caregivers input in the best approach.

According to the district, the FY27 budget keeps elementary class sizes at 25 and secondary class sizes at 30. Without the para outsourcing savings and other staff reductions, the administration projected class sizes could have risen to 35 in elementary and 38 in secondary.

With the loss of approximately 77 positions across the district, course consolidation and middle school schedule restructuring will mean some classes do feel larger or more crowded even if the official cap holds.

The legal cap on elementary class size in NJ is 25 in kindergarten and applies to Title 1 schools more broadly. There is no statewide hard cap for upper grades.

Honestly — we don't fully know, because the district has not published the calculation.

The administration has stated that the $3M figure represents shifted benefit costs (health insurance and pension obligations that move off the district's books when paras become employees of an outside agency). But the public has not been shown the components: how many paraprofessionals are affected, the per-person benefit cost assumptions, vendor management fees, projected turnover costs, or potential legal exposure if continuity-of-service is disrupted under student IEPs.

WOPE members have raised these questions directly in public comment at BOE meetings.

No. West Orange receives approximately $9.9M in state Preschool Education Aid. The district contributes roughly $941K in local funds — under 10% of the program cost. Cutting Pre-K wouldn't save the district money; it would mean forfeiting nearly $10M in state funding.

As Board President Brian Rock put it: "We're paying $1 to get $10 worth of services for our students."

The Custodial, Maintenance, and Security line went up 36% in the FY27 budget — from $14M to $19M, a single-year increase of about $5 million. This is the single largest line-item increase in the budget, and parents have been asking what drove it.

The district's explanation is deferred maintenance — projects like roofs, retaining walls, elevators, and aging infrastructure that were postponed in prior years and are now coming due.

What the district has not provided is a line-by-line breakdown of what the $5M covers. WOPE has asked for this detail and continues to.

Compounding the concern: the district reduced this year's planned capital project investment from $4 million to $1.8 million, meaning more deferred maintenance accumulates for future years.

West Orange's transportation budget is approximately $17.7M in FY27.

• Special education transportation is the likely outlier. SpEd routes require smaller vehicles, dedicated aides, and specialized equipment.
• Statewide transportation costs are exploding. Statewide special education contracted transportation rose sharply while state aid has barely kept pace with inflation.

What about cutting courtesy busing? The district has already removed most high school courtesy bus runs as of FY27, keeping only one route.

WOPE's view is that transportation is a real area for review, but cutting courtesy buses or charging fees won't solve the structural deficit.

Yes, in specific ways. The levy cap has legal exceptions and mechanisms that allow districts to go above a simple 2% increase.

• Healthcare adjustment (N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-3d): districts can add levy authority for health cost growth above 2%.
• Banked cap: unused levy authority from prior years can be carried forward for up to three years.
• Voter referendum: districts can ask voters to approve additional levy for specific items.

For FY27, West Orange had $3,722,387 in healthcare-adjustment authority and used $797,076 (about 21%). After this budget, the district will have approximately $2,925,310 in banked cap available for future use for the next three years. If the BOE don't use the cap by then, it expires.

Usually not in the way people expect.

• Property taxes are paid by property owners, not store brands directly.
• Sales tax goes to the State, not directly to the school district.
• In PILOT agreements, payments generally do not flow to schools.
• School levy is a fixed dollar amount, so new ratables often spread tax burden rather than increase district revenue.

In some cases, higher ratables can even reduce state aid if the formula classifies the district as better able to pay locally. PILOT structures that explicitly include school funding are one structural question worth exploring further.

FY27 is a partial recovery. Total state aid is $38.8M (up from $36.5M in FY26), and equalization aid increased by $3.0M to $18.5M. That's good news — but it doesn't fix the problem.

Equalization aid is still about $4.1M below the FY25 level. One better year doesn't reverse a structural trend.

The FY27 school budget is approximately $206.8M. Here's where it comes from:

• Local property taxes: ~79% ($163.4M)
• State aid: ~19% ($38.8M)
• Other (federal, fund balance, miscellaneous): ~2%

West Orange taxpayers cover nearly four-fifths of the school budget.

This is a question some parents and community advocates have raised. West Orange has a higher special education classification rate than the state average, which means the district sends a meaningful number of students to specialized out-of-district placements.

Building more in-district programs could potentially reduce out-of-district costs and even generate tuition revenue from neighboring districts placing students with us. But it requires significant upfront investment and a multi-year plan the community has not yet seen.

This is one of the structural questions worth exploring as part of a long-term plan.

Local Fair Share is the amount the state says West Orange should be able to fund locally, based on property wealth and resident income.

The core mismatch: Local Fair Share rises faster than what the levy cap allows the district to collect each year. The state expects roughly 5% local growth while law allows roughly 2%, so the gap widens every year.

WOPE is working with state legislators on reforming the funding formula.

The advertised budget is the legally required high-level summary published before the hearing and vote. The detailed budget includes line-by-line program and account-level spending detail.

The advertised document is what gets voted, but the detailed budget is what allows families to evaluate tradeoffs.

WOPE has consistently asked that detailed budget documents be released before votes so families can evaluate decisions with full context. Now they've been made available after the May 2026 meeting.

WOBOE Budget & Finance Documents

A Community Budget Advisory Committee would be a group of West Orange residents — parents, taxpayers, educators — who review the school district's budget alongside the administration and BOE.

This isn't a radical idea. West Orange Township already has one for the municipal budget.

WOPE has requested this repeatedly at BOE meetings since early 2025. The board has indicated agreement in principle but has not yet established the committee.

Yes. The FY27 vote settled this budget cycle, but major implementation decisions still happen after passage: preparation for FY28.

Sustained family engagement helps shape what happens next. The Community Budget Advisory Committee that WOPE has repeatedly requested has not yet been established.

A non-profit can supplement programs and grants, but it cannot replace the operating budget. New Jersey law requires schools to be funded primarily through property taxes and state aid.

Montclair has the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE), which raises money for grants and innovation programs. WOPE is exploring something similar.

A district-wide non-profit can fund enrichment, but it cannot fix a structural deficit driven by state policy.

Title 1 is a federal funding designation based on low-income student percentages. It is not a school grade or ranking.

Title 1 funding can support interventions, family engagement, and staffing protections that directly help students like capped class sizes.

In West Orange, Hazel, Washington, and Kelly are Title 1 schools.

WOPE is an all-volunteer parent coalition. Our work is organized around local advocacy, legislative work, and long-term sustainability planning.

• Working groups are forming around specific topics (legislative, communications, research, special education, healthcare).
• PTA and school-level engagement helps build local support.
• Attending BOE meetings signals meaningful community engagement.

Reach out at team@woparents.org and we'll connect you with the working group that fits.

• This week: email Superintendent Moore and the BOE about your ideas and concerns. Contact state legislators about the funding formula.
• This month: attend a BOE meeting and bring other parents into the conversation.
• This year: track BOE and council elections and prepare early for the FY28 budget cycle.
• Stay connected: join the newsletter and contact your legislators.