Old Bridge: Another Jersey Town Paying More
by Anthony DiMaio
Old Bridge homeowners are facing nearly a 10% increase in their property tax bills this year, and township officials say the schools are largely to blame.
The Township Council held a meeting Aug. 12 after fielding weeks of calls and letters from residents upset over the spike. For a home assessed at the township average of $157,373, the total property tax bill rose about $900 to $9,950. The largest factor, officials said, was the school tax levy, which jumped 13.87% and added more than $728 to the average bill. The median household income in the town was about $106,900 in 2023, according to the latest U.S. Census data.
Old Bridge School District Faces Difficult Choices
Old Bridge Public School officials say they’ve been forced into difficult decisions of their own — weighing steep tax hikes against deep cuts to programs and services.
Before approving their $185 million budget for the 2025-26 school year in May, school officials warned they were staring at an $18 million deficit fueled by state aid reductions. Since New Jersey revised its school funding formula in 2018, the district has lost millions in aid, forcing the district to sell property, close an elementary school and eliminate about 85 staff positions.
“There’s nothing left. We’ve been able to plug holes with reserves, but there are no more reserves,” board member Marjorie Jodrey said at the district’s May budget hearing.
Rising Costs and Reduced State Aid
Rising expenses including salaries, benefits, energy and transportation have only deepened the gap, alongside this year’s 3% cut in state aid, the board said.
Old Bridge will receive about $23.6 million in state funding for the upcoming school year — $730,000 less than last year, according to state Department of Education figures.
Without raising taxes, the district’s shortfall could have forced drastic cuts — including eliminating full-day kindergarten, closing schools, reducing elementary art programs and scaling back security coverage, officials said.
To help close this year’s gap, the district applied for the state’s Tax Levy Incentive Aid program, which provides additional funding to districts that increase their local tax levy. The application was approved earlier this month.
Statewide Funding Formula Impact
New Jersey’s school funding law, fully implemented for the first time last year, was intended to shift aid from districts deemed “overfunded” to those historically underfunded. But the Old Bridge Board of Education argues the formula unfairly penalizes their community, leaving them little choice but to raise the school tax levy. Student enrollment in Old Bridge has steadily declined over the past six years to about 8,000 across its 14 public schools — a drop officials say is another factor affecting funding. Across New Jersey, districts grappling with steep aid cuts have resorted to similar drastic measures, from raising local taxes to implementing significant program reductions.
# # #
| 
