Burlington Township Schools

E-Notification

September 18, 2025

Dear Burlington Township Families,

We are hopeful that everyone’s school year is off to a great start!

We have important news regarding middle school sports. Due to a miscommunication, the November ballot question cannot appear as planned. However, the District is moving forward with a pilot spring program offering baseball and softball. The District uses a pilot program when introducing new initiatives such as curriculum, athletics, and extracurricular activities in order to evaluate whether this program should be continued in the future. This spring sports pilot will allow us to work through various logistical issues including field space, transportation, coaching staff, equipment, and supplies.

Burlington Township has not previously offered middle school sports due to longstanding budget and resource limitations. In Spring 2025, the Board of Education held stakeholder meetings to explore a path forward. The consensus was to present a separate ballot question in the November 2025 general election, as budget constraints prevented inclusion in the 2025–2026 operating budget. The pilot is made possible through a one-time budgetary savings (breakage) identified in recent weeks. While this one-time savings is sufficient for this spring pilot, it is not enough to fund either a full time teaching position or the full proposed middle school athletic program.

The pilot will be evaluated based on participation and community feedback. Further discussions on the future of middle school sports will take place during the 2026–2027 budget process, beginning in February. Options may include a fall pilot, partial budget funding, or a new ballot proposal for November 2026.

We appreciate the continued support and engagement of our families and community.

Warmest regards,

Mary Ann Bell

Superintendent of Schools

Nicholas Bice

Board Secretary & Business Administrator

History of Middle School Sports

As many of you know, this has been an ongoing challenge based on funding and resources since before the middle school opened 17 years ago. Unfortunately, this has frustrated parents, students, and the District. Burlington Township has never been able to offer middle school sports to our students. We understand these programs have value and would be welcomed. This past spring, the Board of Education engaged in several stakeholder meetings and input sessions regarding the potential to offer middle school sports. The conclusion from this work was that middle school sports would be offered as a separate proposal to the community in the November 4, 2025 general election. While some stakeholders were concerned about doing this instead of including it in the District’s budget, the budget shortfall was too great to consider adding the full program of sports during the 2025-2026 budget. Some of the stakeholders who devoted their time to discuss and debate this item were also understandably concerned that if the vote failed the District would be prohibited from adding these sports in the next few years. This concern is based on the gubernatorial election this year when a high turn out of voters would be anticipated. The District appreciates the community’s patience and engagement in this ongoing debate for several years.

Forward Progress During 2025

During the last few months, we have communicated our intention to have the question of funding a full middle school sports program annually of more than $268,000 on the November 4, 2025 general ballot. Despite making this decision and indicating that to the county offices, a miscommunication occurred between the county and the District. Much to our disappointment, the result is that the District is unable to offer this separate proposal to our community on the November 4th general election. 

The Board of Education and Administration understands the deep desire among our families to see progress on this important issue. Therefore, we will be running a spring sports pilot program offering one softball and one baseball team in Spring 2026. The District uses a pilot program when introducing new initiatives such as curriculum, athletics, and extracurricular activities in order to evaluate whether this program should be continued in the future.  

The spring season is set to begin in the league in early March 2026. The schedules for the league are already developed and we will work to fill in games. As it’s the district’s first season participating, the school would not be eligible for playoffs or championships. The timeline for the season includes seeking qualified coaching staff, developing other procedures, and providing communication to students and families. The middle school will offer baseball and softball try-outs for about 16 players per sport. The District will have a limited spring season because all schedules for middle school athletics were developed by the league in July. Therefore, our pilot program will run the same as it would have if the separate proposal had passed.

It is understandable that many stakeholders are wondering how we can pay for this pilot when we did not have the funding in the original 2025-2026 budget. This is a reasonable question and, while our budget is still very tight due to various constraints, we have a one-time positive breakage that was not available until the last few weeks. This breakage, which was generated by a budget item being less expensive than anticipated, is not enough to fund a full time teaching position yet will allow us to fund our spring sports pilot program. Additionally, there will not be a need to ask the Township to send revised tax bills in December which would have been an added expense to the District.

How the District Will Evaluate the Program

The District will report on the spring season at the end of the school year taking feedback from students and families. We will measure success on the participation level as well as direct feedback from the players and community members.

How Families Can Engage in the Process

The District will include continued discussions about the middle school sports program in the budget development process for the 2026-2027 budget which begins in February. During that time, consideration will be given regarding how to proceed in the fall. Some options would be to run a fall pilot, consider funding some sports within the budget, or consider a ballot question in November 2026.

Summary

The District cannot ask voters to decide about funding a full middle school sports program on November 4th. Instead, the District will conduct a pilot in Spring 2026 with baseball and softball; this plan remains the same whether the vote was held on November 4th or if we proceed with the pilot. This will allow the District to continue to move this important initiative forward while following our protocols of piloting new initiatives to work out the various details. 

The Board and Administration knows this is a difficult communication to send and even more difficult to receive. We appreciate our community’s input, diligence in working on behalf of our students, and thank you for your patience.

Burlington Township Schools

609-387-3955

Director of Human Resources & Community Relations

escott@burtwpsch.org

BTSD Public Relations Dept.

pr@burltwpsch.org