How Summit's schools are paid for, who decides, and why residents never vote on the budget
Where does the money come from, and who decides?
Almost entirely local taxes, with no school debt and no public vote
Summit is a Type I district, which changes both halves of this question. On the money: the 2026-2027 budget is $90,511,845 and $79,873,363 of it -- about 88 per cent -- is raised from Summit taxpayers, against $5,026,229 of state aid, which is roughly 6 per cent and falling. There is no debt service line at all. Capital work is paid for out of reserves built up inside the operating budget and, historically, through City Improvement Authorizations issued by the City of Summit, which the 2022-2023 audit records at $1,555,845 for that year. On who decides: board members are appointed rather than elected, and the budget is certified not by voters but by the Board of School Estimate of the City of Summit, on which the board of education is represented by two of its own members. In 2026 those were Melanie Cohn and Eileen Kelly. The practical effect is that the annual levy decision is made in a public hearing rather than at a ballot box, and a multi-million-dollar building programme can proceed without a referendum. What is driving the levy is not in dispute. The 2026-2027 increase is 4.93 per cent, about $344 a year on the average assessed home of $445,100, and the district's own presentation attributes 2.88 of those 4.93 percentage points to health care alone. Health benefit costs have gone from $8,604,069 in FY2017 to a projected $16,508,850 in FY2027. The levy can exceed New Jersey's 2 per cent cap only because the budget carries a $2,227,161 health benefits adjustment. Eighty-five per cent of general fund spending goes to salaries, benefits and insurance.
About 88 per cent of the money is local
A $79,873,363 levy inside a $90,511,845 budget for 2026-2027, against $5,026,229 of state aid. State aid fell $155,450 on the year and extraordinary aid a further $110,000.
No school debt service, so no bond referendums
The 2026-2027 budget shows debt service of zero. Capital projects come from an $850,000 capital reserve withdrawal, a $50,000 maintenance reserve contribution, transfers back into reserve of up to $1,500,000 at year end, and City Improvement Authorizations by the City of Summit.
Residents do not vote on the budget
The Board of School Estimate of the City of Summit certifies it. In 2026 the board of education adopted the final budget at 6:00 pm on March 26 and the Board of School Estimate held its public hearing and approved it at 6:15 pm the same evening.
The board is appointed, not elected
Seven seated members, each recorded as appointed in May of a given year. At the May 12, 2026 reorganization Eileen Kelly was reappointed and Kimberly Gianis and Jenny Hoff were sworn in, Ms Hoff to an unexpired term, while Yon Cho and Rick Hanley left.
Health care is most of the increase
2.88 of the 4.93 percentage point levy increase for 2026-2027. A board member told the March meeting the health insurance increase is out of the district's hands and will continue for years. Costs have roughly doubled in a decade, and the district joined the School Health Insurance Fund in July 2022.
Enrolment is flat, for now
3,575 pupils on roll in October 2024, 3,549 in October 2025 and 3,594 estimated for October 2026; 4,006 students served in total including pre-kindergarten and out-of-district placements. The board has paid $18,600 for five-year projections because of new housing developments.
The district's own numbers are strong on outcomes. Of the Class of 2026's 285 graduates, 253 -- 88.8 per cent -- went directly into higher education, and the class submitted 2,773 college applications. In the Class of 2025, 73 per cent of seniors sat at least one Advanced Placement exam and 70 per cent scored three or higher on at least one. About 80 per cent of Summit students scored at or above grade-level standards on the 2025 state assessments, and the elementary world language programme was named a model programme by the state Department of Education. The district holds an ASBO International Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting, and when the 2026-2027 state aid cut proved smaller than feared the board brought its own proposal down from 5.17 per cent to 4.93 per cent rather than keeping the money.
Where the district stands
Total budget, 2026-2027verified
90,511,845 USD
Raised from local taxes, 2026-2027verified
79,873,363 USD
School tax levy increase, 2026-2027verified
4.93 percent
Annual increase on the average Summit homeverified
344 USD
State aid, 2026-2027verified
5,026,229 USD
Health benefit costs, FY2027 projectedverified
16,508,850 USD
Share of general fund spending on salaries, benefits and insuranceverified
85 percent
Pupils on roll, October 2026 estimateverified
3,594 count
Schoolscontext
9 count
Major projects
Districtwide roof replacement programme
Middle school roof contracted and under way; Jefferson section added; Brayton and high school sections in the same oversight contract
The largest single commitment in the collected year. The board awarded the roof replacement at Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School to Mak Group, LLC of Saddle Brook on February 19, 2026 at $3,785,758, then approved a $170,060 change order in August 2026 to substitute a faster-curing adhesive and shorten the work. A separate roofing contract with Arco Construction, Inc. of West Caldwell was expanded in June 2026 to add Roof Section F at Jefferson Elementary School at $498,225, having first gone through a design scope change in April. Also in April the board engaged EI Associates at $37,900 to act as its own representative at the Brayton, Jefferson, middle school and high school roof projects, with a weekly visit to each school for the duration of construction and video and written reports on compliance and progress. The programme is funded from reserves rather than borrowing.
Next: Completion of the middle school and Jefferson sections, with Brayton and high school roof work under the same EI Associates oversight contract
Comprehensive Maintenance Plan adopted: $15,380,706 of required maintenance against buildings worth $108,450,342
Middle school roof replacement awarded to Mak Group, LLC at $3,785,758
EI Associates engaged at $37,900 for weekly on-site oversight at four schools
Jefferson Elementary Roof Section F added to the Arco Construction award at $498,225
$170,060 change order approved to substitute a faster-curing adhesive at the middle school
Funding
Capital reserve and operating funds; the 2026-2027 budget draws $850,000 from capital reserve and the board transferred up to $1,500,000 back in at the June 30, 2026 year end
Summit High School addition and alterations, and the Tatlock Field House renovation
Both in construction administration, working through change orders
Two building projects ran through the whole collected year, managed under contracts with GPC, Inc. and designed by EI Associates. The Summit High School addition and alterations contract absorbed a series of allowance change orders, including $26,470 in April 2026 to oversee installation of a video wall television studio with a two-year labour warranty, and $700 in June to scan underground utility lines around poles. The Renovations at Tatlock Field House project went through a design scope change of $22,100 in October 2025 and then a run of change orders: $17,120 for a leaking sprinkler valve and structural steel adjustments and $23,395 for sanitary line repairs in February 2026, and in April a set of items that netted credits back to the project, including the elimination of roof top fan curb work and a credit for temporary heating and a change of HVAC unit model. The board also agreed a shared services agreement with the City of Summit for use of the Anderson Field House at Tatlock.
Next: Project closeout on both contracts, with remaining allowance change orders drawn from or credited back to contingency
$22,100 design scope change approved for the Tatlock Field House renovation
Shared services agreement with the City of Summit for use of the Anderson Field House at Tatlock
Tatlock change orders of $17,120 and $23,395 approved for sprinkler and sanitary line work
$26,470 approved to oversee the video wall television studio installation at the high school; Tatlock net credits recorded
Further high school allowance change orders approved
Funding
Bond and Regular Operating District project funding, with EI Associates retained as architect for bond and RODS projects at $227 an hour for principal architects and Parette Somjen Architects as architect of record at $186 an hour
Generator replacement and the capital reserve queue
Middle school generator submitted to the state in April 2026 and funded in the 2026-2027 budget
The board is queuing building-systems work through capital reserve rather than borrowing. In April 2026 it approved the resolutions needed to apply to the county superintendent and the New Jersey Department of Education to replace the generator at Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School in kind and add a backup generator, designating it a capital reserve project, stating that no state funding was being sought, and authorising an amendment to the Long-Range Facilities Plan if required. The 2026-2027 budget then funded it: of the $850,000 capital reserve withdrawal, $600,000 is the middle school generator, $150,000 a Summit High School hot water heater and $100,000 architect and engineering fees for districtwide projects. Alongside it the board financed buses, a wheelchair van and security equipment through a lease purchase agreement with First Hope Bank at 4.495 per cent on a principal of $463,960, and its committee reports name cafeteria equipment, skylight replacements and a Lincoln-Hubbard easement as the next items in the queue. The three-year Comprehensive Maintenance Plan puts required maintenance at $15,380,706, so the queue is long.
Next: State approval and construction of the middle school generator replacement, with the high school hot water heater and design fees drawn from the same $850,000 withdrawal
$850,000 capital reserve withdrawal adopted: $600,000 generator, $150,000 hot water heater, $100,000 design fees
Generator replacement and backup submitted to the county superintendent and the Department of Education, no state funding sought
Up to $1,500,000 transferred into capital reserve at the June 30, 2026 year end
Lease purchase financing advertised for bid
Lease purchase awarded to First Hope Bank at 4.495 per cent on $463,960 for buses, a wheelchair van and security equipment
Funding
Capital reserve, with a $463,960 lease purchase at 4.495 per cent for vehicles and security equipment
Local elections & school board members
Elections & votes
Appointed boardPassed
Three Summit board seats filled by appointment, May 2026
City of Summit, Union County
Summit has no school board election. As a Type I district its nine-member board -- currently seven seated members -- is appointed rather than elected, and the district's own member biographies record each member as appointed in May of a given year. At the reorganization meeting on May 12, 2026 the assistant business administrator and board secretary administered the oath of office to three members: Eileen Kelly, reappointed, and two new members, Kimberly Gianis and Jenny Hoff, the latter appointed to serve out the unexpired remainder of Rick Hanley's term. Yon Cho and Rick Hanley left the board at the same meeting. The board then elected Eileen Kelly president and J. Carlos Mahecha vice president for 2026-2027 and set its five standing committees. The outgoing president used her closing message to argue that appointment rather than election is a strength because the board is not organised around political campaigns. The collected records do not name the appointing authority's own action or its date; the district publishes the oath of office and the reorganization resolutions.
Board of School Estimate certifies the 2026-2027 Summit school budget, March 26, 2026
City of Summit, Union County
Summit residents do not vote on their school budget. Summit is a Type I district, so the budget is certified by the Board of School Estimate of the City of Summit, a joint body on which the board of education is represented by two of its own members -- Melanie Cohn and Eileen Kelly, appointed for the 2026 calendar year effective January 1, 2026. The sequence in 2026 ran as follows: the Board of School Estimate met on March 18 at 6:00 pm to discuss the budget, the board of education then adopted the tentative budget at a special meeting the same evening, and on March 26 the board of education certified and adopted the final budget at 6:00 pm before the Board of School Estimate held its public hearing and approved it at 6:15 pm. The budget approved totals $90,511,845 with a local tax levy of $79,873,363, an increase of 4.93 per cent, and was supported by a $2,227,161 health benefits adjustment that allows it to exceed the statutory 2 per cent levy cap. The public hearing is the only formal opportunity for residents to be heard on the figure. The collected records do not include the Board of School Estimate's own minutes or the recorded vote of its members; the district publishes the meeting notices and its own board's resolutions.
Built from Summit Public Schools' own board pages, which publish the agenda and approved minutes for each meeting as separate documents grouped by school year, alongside the board presentations, the legal notices the district has published on its own site since March 2026, the business office's budget and audit postings and the board's policy portal. Sixteen dated meetings and notices are covered, from October 9, 2025 through September 10, 2026, including the March 18 and March 26, 2026 special budget meetings, the May 12, 2026 reorganization and two executive-session notices. Financial figures are quoted from the board's own budget resolutions and from the district's FY2027 tentative budget presentation, user friendly budget and advertised budget rather than restated. Two districtwide policies were taken directly from the board's policy portal: Policy 5516 on student use of internet-enabled devices and Policy 2365 on generative artificial intelligence.
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