Edison school board passes 6% tax hike, leaves Talmadge land deal alive, and reverses pre-K cut in chaotic meeting
The Edison school board approved a $352M budget with a 6% tax hike, kept the Talmadge land deal alive, and reversed a pre-K cut in a chaotic meeting.
Edison Business Administrator Jonathan Toth outlines budget impacts during Monday night’s school board meeting. (Edison Television via YouTube)
Chris Howell | April 29, 2026
After weeks of public outcry, the Edison Board of Education on Monday passed a $352 million budget that raises school taxes by 6%, or half the increase first proposed in March.
But the four-hour meeting left two big questions unsettled. The board did not cancel its disputed $9 million Talmadge Road land deal. And after first cutting the district’s free pre-K program, members reversed course in a confusing late-night vote, leaving a $3.7 million hole in the budget they had just approved.
Here are answers to the three questions residents kept asking.
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1. Did the budget pass — and how much will my taxes go up?
Yes. The board approved it 5-3.
The new budget raises the school tax levy by 6%, down from the 11.9% increase floated in March. To get there, Edison cut about 80 staff positions, postponed playground work, scaled back field trips, and dropped a planned middle school air conditioning project.
For the average Edison home assessed at $186,900, the school tax bill will rise about $183 by the end of December and roughly $350 over a full 12 months, Business Administrator Jonathan Toth said. That’s about $30 a month.
Even with the cuts, Edison is barely meeting what the state considers adequate spending, Toth warned. The local levy is still about $55 million below what state formulas say residents should pay.
“This problem is not going to go away,” he said.
Members Errico, Lugo, and White voted no. White said staff reductions and program cuts drove her vote. “That bothers me terribly,” she said.
Edison Teachers Association President Matt Revnak said the cuts would hit classrooms hard.
“Cutting the budget down to 6%, not keeping it at 12 or something in between, is a mistake,” he said. “I hope I don’t come back and say I told you so again.”
But other speakers said the board had no choice.
“It’s unrealistic to expect this board to continue not to raise the taxes and only raise them 2%,” said Susan Campione, a 23-year district employee and longtime Edison resident. “Everything has gone up.”
The 6% hike ends five straight years of zero tax increases. State aid was also cut by $2.7 million for the coming year.
After weeks of public outcry, the Edison Board of Education on Monday passed a $352 million budget that raises school taxes by 6%, or half the increase first proposed in March. (The Central Jerseyan)
2. Did the board approve buying the Talmadge Road property?
The board did not buy the land Monday, but it also did not cancel the deal. The contract to buy the roughly $9.9 million property remains in force.
A resolution to terminate the contract had been tabled at last week’s caucus meeting. On Monday, the board split 4-4 on whether to bring it back. Five votes were needed, so the motion failed.
Board Vice President Shannon Peng said the land could eventually house a special education facility. She also said canceling the deal would not lower the tax burden on residents. The $8.5 million tied up in the contract came from the district’s capital reserve, which by law can only be spent on capital projects, not operations or salaries.
“If we cancel the land deal, the $8.5 million goes back to capital reserve, and by law it cannot be used to offset any operational expense,” Peng said. “Therefore it has zero impact on lowering taxes.”
The district has hired its architect and engineer to confirm whether the parcel — which sits in a flood zone — is buildable, Peng said. Edison has a $500,000 deposit at risk if the deal falls through. The land was appraised at $10.4 million to $10.6 million, Toth said.
Many residents disagreed with keeping the deal alive. “The land is not developable at all,” resident Nimesh Dave said, calling the purchase “a reckless decision.”
3. Did the board accept or reject the pre-K grant?
The board first voted to reject the grant, then reversed itself.
The budget passed earlier in the night assumed Edison would reject a state pre-K expansion grant, eliminating the free, full-day program for next school year. Superintendent Edward Aldarelli said the district would explore “alternative pathways” for current 3-year-olds.
But several members said they had not realized rejecting the grant was bundled into a larger finance vote. The board moved to rescind the vote and take up the pre-K grant on its own. This time, only Board President Vishal Patel voted to reject. The other seven members voted to accept it.
The reversal opened a $3.7 million gap.
“You’re just telling us to take apples and replace them with oranges,” Toth said. “You’re going to need basically $3.7 million. That’s a big, big move.”
Patel said the board would “go back to drawing board” and return next week with a revised plan.
Speakers had pleaded for more than an hour to save the program.
“When your decision results in the elimination of the one most significant and pure educational component of this budget, the preschool expansion program, respectfully, you should be ashamed of yourselves,” said Adam Glinn, CEO of the JCC of Middlesex County and a district pre-K partner.
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