Dover Public Schools Proposes 11 Percent Tax Hike

Superintendent Jaime, board members lament a nearly $2 million cut in state aid.

Dover Public Schools revealed its $93 million budget for the 2026-27 school year. It includes an 11 percent tax increase to help bridge a budget gap, caused in part by the loss of nearly $2 million in state aid. 

At Tuesday night’s board meeting, Superintendent Luis Jaime and Atilla Sabahoglu, the business administrator and board secretary, said the financial challenges forced them to implement cost-saving measures, enhance efficiencies, and address rapidly rising costs.   

Dover isn’t alone in belt-tightening after Governor Mikie Sherrill’s first proposed budget; 167 districts in New Jersey will have their aid cut. NJ aid makes up 64.8 percent of Dover’s budget for the 2026-2027 school year. While, according to state funding formulas, Dover is eligible for a budget cut of more than 8 percent, Sherrill’s budget proposes capping reductions at 3 percent. 

“This year’s budget process was particularly challenging due to the significant reduction in state aid, which really required careful planning and difficult decisions,” said board president Scott Miller. He said that in preparing their 2026-2027 budget, the board sought to strike a balance between its responsibilities to both students and Dover taxpayers. 

The tax levy will help close the budget gap in the Dover school district. The tax increase in the new budget will add $37.98 per month to the average Dover homeowner's bill. During the meeting, Sabahoglu and board member T.C. McCourt emphasized that they kept the increase as minimal as possible for Dover taxpayers. 

“The finance committee was not willing to move forward with the initial budget and the tax implications that that would have had on the average taxpayer,” McCourt said. “The initial tax increase would have been about $50 per month, and through the hard work of the administration, cost-cutting measures, and getting creative, that number was reduced by about $13/month.”

Even with the proposed increase, the school district remains $885,012 below adequacy according to the state. Adequacy is a state school funding term that determines the minimum budget a district must have to provide a “thorough and efficient” education to all students.

“Our entire community, not just this board, needs to be heard by the people who are in the position to make changes that will affect Dover for the positive. Dover’s story must be told loudly and consistently so we are not shortchanged next year or in the years to come,” McCourt said, alluding to Sherrill’s budget cuts. 

Superintendent Jaime expressed that the district’s goal was to be “consistent” in the support offered to students, in academics, and in programming, despite these cuts. He highlighted a commitment to maintaining all special education programs and initiatives, maintaining gifted and talented programs, and expanding career and technical education programs such as culinary arts, graphic design, and computer science, in hopes of competing with other districts. 

WHAT’S DRIVING THE BUDGET?

Superintendent Jaime focused on how transportation efficiencies translate to huge district savings. For 2025-26, the district brought back five preschool classrooms and added two new school buses to its fleet. Both measures allow the district to use in-house drivers and routes rather than outsourcing those things at a cost to other districts. To enhance efficiency, Jaime said, for 2026-27, they intend to add three more preschool classrooms as well as an additional school bus. 

The budget presentation also focused on $1.1 million in savings from eliminating or consolidating 10 roles that were not filled or were eliminated during Jaime’s tenure, which began in 2024. These positions include Director of Student Intervention & Testing and Kindergarten teacher assistant. 

Jaime compared the moves to those being made in other cash-strapped Garden State districts that he said are facing cuts and “major layoffs.”

Sabahoglu said that Dover’s project list for buildings and grounds has turned into a “wish list,” with many projects deferred at least in the short term. 

From December's Bridge Academy groundbreaking; Left to Right: Debora Acevedo, Sandra Downs, Dr. Krista Downs, Scott Miller, Luis A. Jaime, Sue Shauer, Alex Toth, TC McCourt, Atilla Sabahoglu celebrate the ground-breaking. (Photo Courtesy Dover School District)

The Dover Bridge Academy, the sixth-grade annex space that broke ground last December, is scheduled for completion this summer. It’s being funded by the district’s capital reserve. Sabahoglu reviewed the list of other facilities projects, from new roofs to HVAC replacements, which he said would “hopefully” happen next year. 

Sabahoglu said $22 million, or nearly 25 percent of the total budget, is earmarked for instruction and employee benefits in the 2026-27 budget. The pricetag for healthcare and other benefits spiked $5 million, or 28 percent, from the 2025-2026 budget. He added that the cost of benefits rose $12 million, or 139 percent, in the last five years. 

In other school district news:

• The AVID program, which stands for “Advancement Via Individual Determination,” will be coming to the high school. The program, according to board member Dr. Krista Seanor, closes the opportunity gap for students who are metaphorically in the middle of the pack. The program offers coaching on behaviors and teaches study methods, among other things, to help prepare students for postsecondary education or careers. 

• Student Representative Sofia Garcia provided her April report on behalf of Dover High School. She led off her address to the board on a somber note, speaking about the passing of former DHS student Christofer Jeremy Chavez Huamani. She thanked the community for providing resources to students handling feelings of shock and grief at learning about the tragic passing of a beloved classmate and friend.