District's published budget summary is five years out of date

What happened

New Jersey requires every district to publish a user-friendly budget, a plain-language summary of where school money comes from and goes. The file behind Brick's own User Friendly Budget link is the 2021-22 summary, showing a proposed local tax levy of $115,659,937. The levy the board actually adopted for 2026-2027 is $142,640,431, about 23 percent higher. A parent using the district's link sees figures five budget years old.

Why it matters to families

The user-friendly budget is the document written for families rather than for accountants, and it is the main way a resident can check what their school taxes buy. While the link stays stale, the current year's numbers are only available inside long board agendas and minutes, which is a much harder route for a parent to take.

The evidence

The user-friendly budget PDF linked from the district's Board Meeting Information page is headed with 2019-20 actual, 2020-21 revised and 2021-22 proposed columns and gives a local tax levy of $115,659,937 for 2021-22. The April 30, 2026 agenda and minutes give the adopted 2026-2027 levy of $142,640,431.

The source