NJDOE User-Friendly Budgets
This is the district budget source behind the budget section on district profiles and the full district budget reports: proposed operating budget, revenue mix, spending categories, UFB side files, and the state-published comparative cost per pupil.
What the source is
New Jersey requires districts to publish a user-friendly budget after the public budget hearing and final submission. NJDOE also publishes the files by year. The source includes revenue, appropriation, enrollment, tax-rate, shared-services, unusual-revenue, and salary-and-benefit files.
The njschooldata budget layer uses the annual CSV files, not scraped PDF tables. The warehouse keeps the detailed revenue, appropriation, enrollment, side-file, and per-pupil-cost rows, then builds a compact district-year summary for profile pages and a fuller report for each matched district.
The budget pages turn those source files into separate reader paths. The report explains the statewide story; the issue briefs start from one budget question; the district index gives every UFB row a first-read prompt; the long explorer remains the filtering and source-row instrument.
Start with the reader task
How to read the profile numbers
- Operating budget is the proposed operating-fund total for the selected budget year.
- Comparative cost per pupil is NJDOE's published comparative-cost line. We do not recompute it from budget total divided by enrollment.
- Revenue mix is operating revenue grouped into local, state, federal, other, and fund-balance categories. It is not an all-funds chart.
- County rank compares only districts in the same displayed county that have a valid budget row for that year.
Coverage note: the budget warehouse is statewide for all loaded years. The profile module appears only when a district profile matches a UFB district row, so charter, special-service, and other non-matching profiles may not show a budget section.
Statewide leads
The 2025-26 lead sheet covers 595 UFB district rows across New Jersey: 566 have usable comparative cost-per-pupil values, with $35.5 billion in proposed operating budgets and 1,371,767 estimated on-roll students. These are reporting leads, not final causal conclusions.
- Cape May has the highest county average comparative cost per pupil, at $30,573; Union has the lowest, at $20,724.
- Bergen has the widest within-county spread, from $17,126 to $103,100, a range of $85,974.
- Statewide operating budget per UFB on-roll moved from $24,735 in 2019-20 to $25,851 in 2025-26, up $1,116 (+4.5%) after CPI-U adjustment.
- Hudson has the fastest county-level real operating budget per UFB on-roll increase, up $4,499 (+21.6%) from 2019-20 to 2025-26; Sussex has the slowest movement, down $2,496 (-8.7%).
Statewide budget structure
The statewide view uses the same latest-year UFB denominator as the district reports: proposed operating budget. Some rows below, especially grants, debt service, and nested cost rows, are scale references rather than one additive schedule.
- Operating revenue is 59% local, 35% state, <1% federal, and 6% fund balance / other.
- High-level operating uses include general current expense at 82%, charter/Renaissance transfers at 4%, school-based budgeting at 10%, and capital outlay at 3% of the statewide operating-budget scale.
- Outside-operating scale is also material: Special Revenue Funds equal 7% of the statewide operating-budget scale, and Debt Service Funds equal 2%.
- Nested cost rows remain non-additive, but the statewide scale is visible: employee benefits 16%, transportation 7%, and operations/maintenance 9% of operating budget.
What the warehouse can answer
The budget source is not one flat spending total. The latest 2025-26 load contains separate files for summary measures, line-level revenue and appropriations, planning enrollment, per-pupil costs, projected balances, tax-rate slices, unusual items, shared services, school-resource statements, and administrative salaries. This map shows which reader questions each table supports.
| Table family | Rows | Districts | Reader question | Current public use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District-year summary | 595 | 595 | What is the budget's scale, funding model, and headline cost position? | Profile budget summary, full district reports, statewide and county lead sheets. |
| Revenue detail rows | 29,876 | 595 | Which named local, state, federal, fund-balance, grant, reserve, and debt-service sources matter? | District report revenue tables, trend drivers, peer line scans, and source appendix. |
| Appropriation detail rows | 34,452 | 595 | Which named operating uses, transfers, grants, capital, debt, and nested cost rows matter? | Spending charts, category history, trend drivers, peer line scans, and line appendix. |
| Pupil-cost detail rows | 9,136 | 569 | Which NJDOE per-pupil cost components differ from local peers? | District report pupil-cost table and generated story signals. |
| Budget-enrollment rows | 3,791 | 593 | What planning enrollment, placements, special education, and sent/received counts shape the budget? | District report enrollment table, comparison matrix, and peer standouts. |
| Recapitulation and balances | 8,156 | 595 | Which projected balances, reserves, and surplus rows could change the budget story? | District side-file history and tax/reserve panels; statewide side-file leads added here. |
| Estimated tax-rate slices | 749 | 553 | Which municipalities or regional slices carry distinct tax-rate and levy estimates? | District tax-rate panel and side-file history; statewide side-file leads added here. |
| Unusual items | 813 | 126 | Which one-off revenues or appropriations did the district flag for explanation? | District explanatory-items panel and side-file history; statewide side-file leads added here. |
| Shared services | 4,931 | 557 | Where does the district report shared-service activity or expected savings? | District shared-service panel and side-file history; statewide side-file leads added here. |
| School-resource statements | 288 | 32 | Which districts publish blended school-based budgeting resource statements? | District school-resource panel and side-file history; statewide side-file leads added here. |
| Administrative salary rows | 5,780 | 583 | What administrative salary and benefit rows did the district self-report? | District administrative salary panel and side-file history; statewide side-file leads added here. |
Reporting routes
The comparison work starts after the source inventory. For 2025-26, the useful budget question is usually not whether costs rose in nominal dollars; it is whether a district is high or low against the right peers, whether movement remains after inflation, and which source rows explain the direction.
| Route | Reader question | Evidence to start with | Comparison frame | Keep the claim honest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost position | Is the district expensive relative to comparable districts? | NJDOE comparative cost per pupil; operating budget per UFB on-roll; tax levy per UFB on-roll. | Local peers, county, statewide UFB rows, funding model slices, scale bands, and cost bands. | NJDOE comparative cost is a published line, not operating budget divided by enrollment. |
| Real cost movement | Did the cost story change after inflation? | First-to-latest comparative cost and operating budget per UFB on-roll in 2025 dollars. | Statewide trend, county trend, funding-model slices, scale bands, and a district's own first year. | A gradual nominal-dollar rise is usually not the story; the useful claim is relative, real-dollar movement. |
| Spending category movement | Which kind of spending changed? | Standardized pupil-cost categories, current named appropriation rows, and budget-family trends. | Latest local peer averages, statewide category distribution, and first-to-latest family movement. | Many source rows are nested or contextual, so category families are reporting lenses, not additive totals. |
| Funding model | Who is paying differently? | Operating revenue shares, state aid, local tax levy, federal revenue, fund balance, and tax-rate slices. | County mix, statewide funding slices, local tax levy per UFB on-roll, and municipal tax-rate schedules. | Tax rates need tax-base context; regional slices can differ inside one district. |
| Student and service load | Is the per-student denominator changing? | UFB planning enrollment, fall enrollment, special education, sent/received rows, preschool, and placements. | Local peer averages, scale bands, first-to-latest denominator movement, and same-year fall enrollment. | UFB on-roll is a budget denominator and can differ from fall enrollment used elsewhere on the site. |
| Outside-operating context | What context changes the budget story? | Projected balances, reserve rows, unusual items, shared services, school-resource statements, and admin salaries. | Operating-budget scale, side-file lead sheets, and full district-report source panels. | Side files are self-reported context files; they do not replace operating revenue or spending totals. |
| Named-line reporting | Which exact source rows deserve follow-up? | Largest current revenue and appropriation lines, first-to-latest named-line movement, and source appendices. | District history, peer line scans, family atlas rows, and statewide named-line lead sheets. | Line labels carry accounting context, but a generated lead still needs reporting before causal claims. |
From UFB row to publishable claim
This ladder is the budget-journalism control layer. It shows how a raw source row becomes a defensible public claim: source basis first, fair comparison next, then timing, category, denominator, side-file context, outside records, and a visible caveat.
| Step | What to prove | UFB evidence | Fair frame | Block before writing | Open next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Name the claim | Write the budget sentence as a question first: high relative cost, real movement, proposal change, category explanation, who pays, denominator shift, one-time support, or side-file context. | Latest 2025-26 UFB summary row plus the matching revenue, appropriation, pupil-cost, enrollment, tax, balance, unusual, shared-service, resource, or salary file. | No comparison yet. This step only chooses the source basis and the unit. | Do not let one raw row become a conclusion before the cost basis, fund scope, and denominator are named. | Issue library · Measure guide |
| 2. Pick the fair frame | Decide whether county peers, statewide ranks, funding-model slices, scale bands, cost bands, service-load slices, or named local peers should carry the comparison. | Comparative cost, operating budget per UFB on-roll, operating revenue shares, tax levy per UFB on-roll, and category/source-family shares. | County is usually the first local frame, but it can still be wrong for special-service, vocational, regional, tiny, transfer-heavy, or placement-heavy districts. | Do not quote a statewide rank as if it proves a local budget is high, low, efficient, or inefficient. | County briefs · Comparison atlas · Model atlas |
| 3. Separate time bases | Ask whether the story is loaded-year movement after inflation, latest-file proposal movement, or a timing-basis difference inside the NJDOE comparative-cost columns. | CPI-U-adjusted loaded-year values, revised/current-to-proposed latest-file columns, actual-cost columns, original-budget columns, and proposed-budget columns where populated. | Compare real movement against the statewide trend, county movement, comparison-group movement, and the district's own first loaded year. | Do not merge nominal proposal changes with inflation-adjusted multi-year trends. | Real movement · Current proposal · Statewide trend |
| 4. Attach the category | If the cost or trend is unusual, identify which revenue source, appropriation family, pupil-cost row, outside-operating row, or named line makes it concrete. | Standardized pupil-cost rows, budget-family trends, proposal source rows, current source-row scale, and district source appendices. | Use same-row local peers, statewide category spread, budget-model groups, and first-to-latest family movement. | Do not add nested source rows, outside-operating rows, and operating totals into one accounting schedule. | Category atlas · Source map · Named source rows |
| 5. Check the student basis | Before writing a per-student claim, say whether the denominator is NJDOE comparative cost, UFB planning on-roll, fall enrollment, sent placements, received students, or a side-file basis. | UFB enrollment rows, fall-enrollment joins, comparative cost, operating budget per UFB on-roll, special-education planning rows, sent placements, and received rows. | Compare same denominator to local peers, scale bands, fall-enrollment context, and service-load history. | Do not recompute NJDOE comparative cost from operating budget divided by enrollment. | Students and service load · Measure guide · District first reads |
| 6. Test one-time and side-file context | Look for budgeted fund balance, reserve withdrawals, carryover, recap balances, tax-rate slices, unusual explanations, shared services, resource statements, and listed administrative salary rows. | Revenue source rows plus recap, tax-rate, unusual-item, shared-service, school-resource, and administrative-salary files. | Use operating-budget-equivalent scale, local peer examples, and same side-file family across districts. | Do not treat side files as audited fiscal statements, complete payroll, recurring revenue, tax-bill advice, or proof of cash stress. | One-time support · Side files · Reporting leads |
| 7. Pull outside records | Translate the generated UFB signal into documents and interviews: proposed budget, hearing deck, adoption minutes, audit, tax worksheet, contracts, staffing records, or board agenda. | The UFB row identifies what to pull; it usually does not prove why the district made the choice. | Keep UFB evidence beside board documents, audits, tax records, staffing context, and district explanations. | Do not turn a generated lead into causality without local reporting. | Storylines · District reports |
| 8. Publish with the caveat | The final claim should carry the measure, unit, comparison group, time basis, source family, and unsupported shortcut it blocks. | Use the district report's source coverage, source-file ledger, claim audit, reporting notebook, and proof links. | Show the district value and comparison value together; if the frame is thin, say that before the claim. | Do not hide denominator, timing, or fund-scope caveats in a distant methodology note. | Statewide report · District first reads · Source map |
District lead sheet
These tables turn the 2025-26 UFB rows into reporting leads. They are intentionally sorted by extreme values, so they are starting points for questions, not verdicts. District links open the full generated budget report when the UFB row matches a published district profile.
Cost and scale leads
| Lead | District | County | Value | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest comparative cost per pupil | Bergen Co Special Service | Bergen | $103,100 | $64.4M operating · 587 UFB on-roll |
| Highest comparative cost per pupil | Mercer Co Special Services School District | Mercer | $95,262 | $45.6M operating · 470 UFB on-roll |
| Highest comparative cost per pupil | Burlington Co Spec Serv | Burlington | $79,585 | $43.9M operating · 527 UFB on-roll |
| Highest comparative cost per pupil | Gloucester Co Spec Serv | Gloucester | $64,243 | $34.3M operating · 529 UFB on-roll |
| Highest comparative cost per pupil | Salem Co Special Service | Salem | $63,018 | $10.4M operating · 160 UFB on-roll |
| Highest operating budget per UFB on-roll student | Educ Serv Comm Morris Co | Morris | $2,512,277 | $40.2M operating · 16 UFB on-roll |
| Highest operating budget per UFB on-roll student | Monmouth-Ocean Ed Ser Com | Monmouth | $2,220,765 | $75.5M operating · 34 UFB on-roll |
| Highest operating budget per UFB on-roll student | Northern Region Educational Services Commission | Passaic | $445,000 | $44.5M operating · 100 UFB on-roll |
| Highest operating budget per UFB on-roll student | Somerset Co Ed Serv Comm | Somerset | $317,563 | $56.2M operating · 177 UFB on-roll |
| Highest operating budget per UFB on-roll student | South Bergen Jointure Com | Bergen | $218,830 | $72.0M operating · 329 UFB on-roll |
| Highest tax levy per UFB on-roll student | Saddle River Boro | Bergen | $77,193 | $12.0M operating · 130 UFB on-roll |
| Highest tax levy per UFB on-roll student | North Wildwood City | Cape May | $48,842 | $9.7M operating · 153 UFB on-roll |
| Highest tax levy per UFB on-roll student | Spring Lake Boro | Monmouth | $47,719 | $7.9M operating · 132 UFB on-roll |
| Highest tax levy per UFB on-roll student | Alpine Boro | Bergen | $47,637 | $9.0M operating · 161 UFB on-roll |
| Highest tax levy per UFB on-roll student | Cranbury Twp | Middlesex | $46,726 | $22.0M operating · 419 UFB on-roll |
| Lowest usable comparative cost per pupil | Ocean County Vocational | Ocean | $13,497 | $38.4M operating · 609 UFB on-roll |
| Lowest usable comparative cost per pupil | Hunterdon Co Vocational | Hunterdon | $14,577 | $13.4M operating · 420 UFB on-roll |
| Lowest usable comparative cost per pupil | Garwood Boro | Union | $14,948 | $11.1M operating · 494 UFB on-roll |
| Lowest usable comparative cost per pupil | Kingsway Regional | Gloucester | $15,758 | $59.5M operating · 2,950 UFB on-roll |
| Lowest usable comparative cost per pupil | Springfield Twp | Burlington | $15,839 | $4.8M operating · 280 UFB on-roll |
Funding model leads
| Lead | District | County | Value | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most state-funded operating budget | City of Orange Twp | Essex | 91% | $133.6 million · $147.1M operating · 6,092 UFB on-roll |
| Most state-funded operating budget | Trenton Public School District | Mercer | 91% | $403.7 million · $445.3M operating · 17,270 UFB on-roll |
| Most state-funded operating budget | Camden City | Camden | 90% | $376.7 million · $417.8M operating · 15,785 UFB on-roll |
| Most state-funded operating budget | Elizabeth City | Union | 89% | $601.4 million · $676.4M operating · 27,885 UFB on-roll |
| Most locally funded operating budget | Warren Co Special Service | Warren | 100% | $300,000 · $300,000 operating · 6 UFB on-roll |
| Most locally funded operating budget | Sussex Co Ed Serv Comm | Sussex | 100% | $7.7 million · $7.7M operating · 53 UFB on-roll |
| Most locally funded operating budget | South Bergen Jointure Com | Bergen | 100% | $72.0 million · $72.0M operating · 329 UFB on-roll |
| Most locally funded operating budget | Salem Co Special Service | Salem | 100% | $10.4 million · $10.4M operating · 160 UFB on-roll |
| Largest federal operating-revenue share | North Hanover Twp | Burlington | 26% | $9.1 million · $34.7M operating · 1,511 UFB on-roll |
| Largest federal operating-revenue share | Cape May City | Cape May | 13% | $700,000 · $5.4M operating · 167 UFB on-roll |
| Largest federal operating-revenue share | Sandyston-Walpack Twp | Sussex | 10% | $450,000 · $4.6M operating · 127 UFB on-roll |
| Largest federal operating-revenue share | New Hanover Twp | Burlington | 9% | $530,917 · $6.2M operating · 258 UFB on-roll |
| Largest fund balance / other share | Loch Arbour School District | Monmouth | 80% | $843,662 · $1.1M operating |
| Largest fund balance / other share | Longport | Atlantic | 43% | $623,746 · $1.5M operating |
| Largest fund balance / other share | Long Beach Island | Ocean | 42% | $6.3 million · $14.9M operating · 215 UFB on-roll |
| Largest fund balance / other share | Cape May Point | Cape May | 33% | $50,952 · $155,025 operating |
| Highest tax levy per UFB on-roll student | Saddle River Boro | Bergen | $77,193 | $10.0 million · $12.0M operating · 130 UFB on-roll |
| Highest tax levy per UFB on-roll student | North Wildwood City | Cape May | $48,842 | $7.5 million · $9.7M operating · 153 UFB on-roll |
| Highest tax levy per UFB on-roll student | Spring Lake Boro | Monmouth | $47,719 | $6.3 million · $7.9M operating · 132 UFB on-roll |
| Highest tax levy per UFB on-roll student | Alpine Boro | Bergen | $47,637 | $7.7 million · $9.0M operating · 161 UFB on-roll |
Spending and outside-operating leads
| Lead | District | County | Value | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largest charter/Renaissance transfer share | Camden City | Camden | 54% | $226.7 million · $417.8M operating · 15,785 UFB on-roll |
| Largest charter/Renaissance transfer share | Newark City | Essex | 26% | $416.1 million · $1.6B operating · 58,361 UFB on-roll |
| Largest charter/Renaissance transfer share | Asbury Park City | Monmouth | 22% | $14.2 million · $64.8M operating · 2,176 UFB on-roll |
| Largest charter/Renaissance transfer share | Paterson City | Passaic | 21% | $160.6 million · $750.4M operating · 29,553 UFB on-roll |
| Largest school-based budgeting share | Harrison Town | Hudson | 61% | $30.9 million · $50.9M operating · 2,541 UFB on-roll |
| Largest school-based budgeting share | Perth Amboy City | Middlesex | 55% | $145.8 million · $262.8M operating · 10,980 UFB on-roll |
| Largest school-based budgeting share | Phillipsburg Town | Warren | 55% | $50.2 million · $90.7M operating · 4,136 UFB on-roll |
| Largest school-based budgeting share | New Brunswick City | Middlesex | 55% | $152.4 million · $276.2M operating · 9,115 UFB on-roll |
| Largest Special Revenue Funds scale | Hunterdon Co Ed Ser Comm | Hunterdon | 63% | $970,000 · $1.6M operating |
| Largest Special Revenue Funds scale | Lakewood Twp | Ocean | 36% | $108.5 million · $303.9M operating · 4,553 UFB on-roll |
| Largest Special Revenue Funds scale | Mullica Twp | Atlantic | 28% | $3.6 million · $12.6M operating · 625 UFB on-roll |
| Largest Special Revenue Funds scale | Frenchtown Boro | Hunterdon | 26% | $799,182 · $3.1M operating · 102 UFB on-roll |
| Largest Debt Service Funds scale | Hunterdon Co Ed Ser Comm | Hunterdon | 23% | $350,000 · $1.6M operating |
| Largest Debt Service Funds scale | Chesterfield Twp | Burlington | 16% | $2.3 million · $14.2M operating · 692 UFB on-roll |
| Largest Debt Service Funds scale | Monmouth Regional | Monmouth | 15% | $4.8 million · $31.3M operating · 844 UFB on-roll |
| Largest Debt Service Funds scale | Shrewsbury Boro | Monmouth | 15% | $1.7 million · $11.3M operating · 452 UFB on-roll |
| Largest student transportation share | Educ Serv Comm Morris Co | Morris | 96% | $38.8 million · $40.2M operating · 16 UFB on-roll |
| Largest student transportation share | Camden Co Ed Serv Comm | Camden | 92% | $47.7 million · $51.6M operating |
| Largest student transportation share | Monmouth-Ocean Ed Ser Com | Monmouth | 85% | $63.9 million · $75.5M operating · 34 UFB on-roll |
| Largest student transportation share | Somerset Co Ed Serv Comm | Somerset | 69% | $39.0 million · $56.2M operating · 177 UFB on-roll |
| Largest employee benefits share | Salem Co Special Service | Salem | 31% | $3.2 million · $10.4M operating · 160 UFB on-roll |
| Largest employee benefits share | Burlington Co Spec Serv | Burlington | 31% | $13.5 million · $43.9M operating · 527 UFB on-roll |
| Largest employee benefits share | Little Egg Harbor Twp | Ocean | 30% | $9.0 million · $30.0M operating · 1,739 UFB on-roll |
| Largest employee benefits share | Tabernacle Twp | Burlington | 30% | $3.8 million · $12.9M operating · 781 UFB on-roll |
| Largest operations and maintenance share | Middlesex Co Vocational | Middlesex | 20% | $10.1 million · $51.8M operating · 2,130 UFB on-roll |
| Largest operations and maintenance share | Salem City | Salem | 18% | $5.4 million · $30.9M operating · 1,388 UFB on-roll |
| Largest operations and maintenance share | Camden County Vocational | Camden | 17% | $8.5 million · $50.7M operating · 2,188 UFB on-roll |
| Largest operations and maintenance share | Beach Haven Boro | Ocean | 17% | $456,141 · $2.8M operating · 76 UFB on-roll |
Side-file lead sheet
The UFB side files are not decorations around the operating budget. They contain reserves, projected balances, municipal tax-rate slices, unusual items, shared services, school-resource statements, and listed administrative salary rows that can change what a budget story is about. They remain context files, not replacement totals.
- The recapitulation file has 8,156 latest-year rows across 595 districts; 3,107 rows report a positive projected balance, with the largest single row at $82.5 million.
- The tax-rate file has 749 municipal or district slices across 553 districts; 92 districts publish more than one slice, and the largest regional schedule has 12 slices.
- The unusual-items file has 813 rows across 126 districts; 813 positive rows sum to $918.8 million before any local deduplication or reporting judgment.
- The shared-services file has 4,931 rows across 557 districts; districts reported $12.0 million in optional savings rows across 146 entries.
- School-resource statements are much narrower: 288 rows across 32 districts. Administrative salary files are broad but self-reported: 5,780 rows across 583 districts, with $728.3 million in listed base salaries.
| Reader question | District | County | Evidence | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Which projected balance rows are largest statewide? | Atlantic City | Atlantic | $82.5 million projected closing balance | Restricted-General Operating Budget: Capital Reserve; listed earlier amount $131.6 million. $290.0M operating · 6,511 UFB on-roll |
| Which projected balance rows are largest statewide? | Elizabeth City | Union | $75.1 million projected closing balance | Restricted-General Operating Budget: Capital Reserve; listed earlier amount $80.2 million. $676.4M operating · 27,885 UFB on-roll |
| Which projected balance rows are largest statewide? | Woodbridge Twp | Middlesex | $57.3 million projected closing balance | Restricted-General Operating Budget: Capital Reserve; listed earlier amount $57.2 million. $358.7M operating · 14,374 UFB on-roll |
| Which projected balance rows are largest statewide? | Fairview Boro | Bergen | $49.2 million projected closing balance | Restricted-General Operating Budget: Capital Reserve; listed earlier amount $49.2 million. $53.2M operating · 1,528 UFB on-roll |
| Which projected balance rows are largest statewide? | Union County Vocational | Union | $44.9 million projected closing balance | Restricted-General Operating Budget: Capital Reserve; listed earlier amount $31.1 million. $40.2M operating · 1,733 UFB on-roll |
| Which projected balances are largest relative to operating budget? | Cape May Point | Cape May | 161% of operating scale | $250,100 in Restricted-General Operating Budget: Current Expense Emergency Reserve. $155,025 operating |
| Which projected balances are largest relative to operating budget? | North Hanover Twp | Burlington | 125% of operating scale | $43.3 million in Restricted-General Operating Budget: Impact Aid Reserve for General Expenses (Sections 8002 and 8003). $34.7M operating · 1,511 UFB on-roll |
| Which projected balances are largest relative to operating budget? | Union County Vocational | Union | 112% of operating scale | $44.9 million in Restricted-General Operating Budget: Capital Reserve. $40.2M operating · 1,733 UFB on-roll |
| Which projected balances are largest relative to operating budget? | Hunterdon Co Ed Ser Comm | Hunterdon | 102% of operating scale | $1.6 million in Unrestricted-General Operating Budget. $1.6M operating |
| Which projected balances are largest relative to operating budget? | Fairview Boro | Bergen | 92% of operating scale | $49.2 million in Restricted-General Operating Budget: Capital Reserve. $53.2M operating · 1,528 UFB on-roll |
| Which unusual-item rows deserve reporting? | Lakewood Twp | Ocean | $129.6 million unusual item | DOE State Aid Advance - need to provide a thorough and efficient education; subject to approval by doe and state treasurer. this is needed to eliminate debt; $303.9M operating · 4,553 UFB on-roll |
| Which unusual-item rows deserve reporting? | Teaneck Twp | Bergen | $104.9 million unusual item | 2.51 % includes 2% tax levy and .51% health benefit waiver - tax levy increase from tax payers; $120.7M operating · 3,708 UFB on-roll |
| Which unusual-item rows deserve reporting? | Teaneck Twp | Bergen | $70.0 million unusual item | TOTAL UNDISTRIBUTED EXPENDITURES - total undistributed expenditures; $120.7M operating · 3,708 UFB on-roll |
| Which unusual-item rows deserve reporting? | Toms River Regional | Ocean | $22.3 million unusual item | State loan/state aid advancement - need state loan/state aid advancement; $271.8M operating · 13,814 UFB on-roll |
| Which unusual-item rows deserve reporting? | Mount Laurel Twp | Burlington | $19.2 million unusual item | TOTAL PERSONAL SERVICES EMPLOYEE BENEFITS - increase in health benefits; $89.6M operating · 4,336 UFB on-roll |
| Which unusual-item rows deserve reporting? | Old Bridge Twp | Middlesex | $17.9 million unusual item | State of New Jersey - this line represents a request to the nj department of education for additional funding by way of a loan and/or any other funding source in…; $185.0M operating · 8,365 UFB on-roll |
| Where are reported shared-service savings largest? | Southern Regional | Ocean | $3.5 million reported savings | 35 shared-service rows; savings are district-reported and optional. $71.7M operating · 2,590 UFB on-roll |
| Where are reported shared-service savings largest? | Mount Laurel Twp | Burlington | $1.3 million reported savings | 16 shared-service rows; savings are district-reported and optional. $89.6M operating · 4,336 UFB on-roll |
| Where are reported shared-service savings largest? | Ocean Twp | Ocean | $1.1 million reported savings | 13 shared-service rows; savings are district-reported and optional. $20.9M operating · 558 UFB on-roll |
| Where are reported shared-service savings largest? | Rockaway Boro | Morris | $750,000 reported savings | 4 shared-service rows; savings are district-reported and optional. $13.5M operating · 583 UFB on-roll |
| Where are reported shared-service savings largest? | Guttenberg Town | Hudson | $720,000 reported savings | 5 shared-service rows; savings are district-reported and optional. $32.3M operating · 1,010 UFB on-roll |
| Which districts list the most shared-service arrangements? | Southern Regional | Ocean | 35 shared-service rows | $3.5 million reported savings where supplied. $71.7M operating · 2,590 UFB on-roll |
| Which districts list the most shared-service arrangements? | Stafford Twp | Ocean | 31 shared-service rows | $0 reported savings where supplied. $49.6M operating · 2,329 UFB on-roll |
| Which districts list the most shared-service arrangements? | East Brunswick Twp | Middlesex | 29 shared-service rows | $0 reported savings where supplied. $199.2M operating · 8,513 UFB on-roll |
| Which districts list the most shared-service arrangements? | Brick Twp | Ocean | 28 shared-service rows | $0 reported savings where supplied. $158.4M operating · 8,024 UFB on-roll |
| Which districts list the most shared-service arrangements? | Waldwick Boro | Bergen | 28 shared-service rows | $0 reported savings where supplied. $40.4M operating · 1,546 UFB on-roll |
| Where are school-based budget statements largest? | Newark City | Essex | $1.0 billion school-based budget row | Resources: Total School-Based Budget. Only districts that publish this statement appear here. $1.6B operating · 58,361 UFB on-roll |
| Where are school-based budget statements largest? | Jersey City | Hudson | $761.9 million school-based budget row | Resources: Total School-Based Budget. Only districts that publish this statement appear here. $898.9M operating · 31,801 UFB on-roll |
| Where are school-based budget statements largest? | Elizabeth City | Union | $677.3 million school-based budget row | Resources: Total School-Based Budget. Only districts that publish this statement appear here. $676.4M operating · 27,885 UFB on-roll |
| Where are school-based budget statements largest? | Paterson City | Passaic | $607.5 million school-based budget row | Resources: Total School-Based Budget. Only districts that publish this statement appear here. $750.4M operating · 29,553 UFB on-roll |
| Where are school-based budget statements largest? | Trenton Public School District | Mercer | $370.0 million school-based budget row | Resources: Total School-Based Budget. Only districts that publish this statement appear here. $445.3M operating · 17,270 UFB on-roll |
| Where are listed administrative salary rows largest in aggregate? | Paterson City | Passaic | $16.1 million listed base salary | 138 self-reported admin rows; largest listed row $290,700. $750.4M operating · 29,553 UFB on-roll |
| Where are listed administrative salary rows largest in aggregate? | Newark City | Essex | $11.8 million listed base salary | 76 self-reported admin rows; largest listed row $319,785. $1.6B operating · 58,361 UFB on-roll |
| Where are listed administrative salary rows largest in aggregate? | Camden City | Camden | $10.6 million listed base salary | 94 self-reported admin rows; largest listed row $230,378. $417.8M operating · 15,785 UFB on-roll |
| Where are listed administrative salary rows largest in aggregate? | Bergen County Vocational | Bergen | $7.5 million listed base salary | 69 self-reported admin rows; largest listed row $319,912. $88.7M operating · 2,823 UFB on-roll |
| Where are listed administrative salary rows largest in aggregate? | Passaic County Vocational | Passaic | $5.2 million listed base salary | 42 self-reported admin rows; largest listed row $257,625. $144.1M operating · 4,707 UFB on-roll |
| Where does the tax-rate story split across municipalities? | N Hunt/Voorhees Regional | Hunterdon | 12 tax-rate slices | $57.1 million total school levy across listed slices. Regional tax rates are per $100 of valuation. $66.6M operating · 2,076 UFB on-roll |
| Where does the tax-rate story split across municipalities? | Freehold Regional | Monmouth | 8 tax-rate slices | $188.9 million total school levy across listed slices. Regional tax rates are per $100 of valuation. $236.3M operating · 9,624 UFB on-roll |
| Where does the tax-rate story split across municipalities? | Lenape Regional | Burlington | 8 tax-rate slices | $147.0 million total school levy across listed slices. Regional tax rates are per $100 of valuation. $178.4M operating · 6,336 UFB on-roll |
| Where does the tax-rate story split across municipalities? | Northern Valley Regional | Bergen | 7 tax-rate slices | $61.8 million total school levy across listed slices. Regional tax rates are per $100 of valuation. $75.2M operating · 2,317 UFB on-roll |
| Where does the tax-rate story split across municipalities? | Southern Regional | Ocean | 7 tax-rate slices | $53.4 million total school levy across listed slices. Regional tax rates are per $100 of valuation. $71.7M operating · 2,590 UFB on-roll |
| Which reported tax-rate slices are highest? | Winfield Twp | Union | 11.010 per $100 valuation | district-wide slice; $1.8 million total school levy. $4.5M operating · 147 UFB on-roll |
| Which reported tax-rate slices are highest? | Union Twp | Union | 10.800 per $100 valuation | district-wide slice; $111.9 million total school levy. $171.8M operating · 7,717 UFB on-roll |
| Which reported tax-rate slices are highest? | Scotch Plains-Fanwood Reg | Union | 8.262 per $100 valuation | SCOTCH PLAINS TOWNSHIP; $85.4 million total school levy. $125.4M operating · 5,929 UFB on-roll |
| Which reported tax-rate slices are highest? | East Brunswick Twp | Middlesex | 7.916 per $100 valuation | district-wide slice; $152.5 million total school levy. $199.2M operating · 8,513 UFB on-roll |
| Which reported tax-rate slices are highest? | Woodbridge Twp | Middlesex | 6.561 per $100 valuation | district-wide slice; $207.3 million total school levy. $358.7M operating · 14,374 UFB on-roll |
Loaded years
The warehouse loads every UFB year currently listed by NJDOE. Nominal operating budget is scale context; trend claims should use the CPI-U adjusted columns in 2025 dollars. Average comparative cost per pupil uses only usable positive NJDOE comparative-cost values.
| Year | Rows | PPC rows | Counties | Operating budget | Operating budget (2025$) | Operating / UFB on-roll (2025$) | Avg. comparative cost (2025$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 598 | 569 | 21 | $27.2B | $34.2B | $24,735 | $23,286 |
| 2020-21 | 598 | 567 | 21 | $28.2B | $35.0B | $25,289 | $23,650 |
| 2021-22 | 598 | 568 | 21 | $28.9B | $34.3B | $25,242 | $23,577 |
| 2022-23 | 598 | 569 | 21 | $30.3B | $33.4B | $24,648 | $22,697 |
| 2023-24 | 595 | 567 | 21 | $32.0B | $33.8B | $25,050 | $22,781 |
| 2024-25 | 595 | 566 | 21 | $34.0B | $34.9B | $25,556 | $23,100 |
| 2025-26 | 595 | 566 | 21 | $35.5B | $35.5B | $25,851 | $23,591 |
County snapshot
This table rolls the 2025-26 UFB district rows up by county. Average comparative cost per pupil uses only rows with usable positive NJDOE comparative-cost values; local and state shares are proposed operating revenue shares.
| County | Rows | PPC rows | Operating budget | On-roll | Avg. PPC | Local | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape May | 19 | 16 | $325.1M | 11,449 | $30,573 | 77.2% | 13.3% |
| Mercer | 11 | 11 | $1.6B | 62,766 | $28,786 | 54.0% | 41.1% |
| Hunterdon | 27 | 26 | $510.9M | 18,245 | $25,764 | 84.9% | 8.7% |
| Monmouth | 55 | 49 | $2.4B | 89,784 | $25,606 | 80.1% | 14.1% |
| Atlantic | 26 | 24 | $1.2B | 41,672 | $25,066 | 41.6% | 45.6% |
| Somerset | 19 | 18 | $1.4B | 50,934 | $24,879 | 77.6% | 17.6% |
| Bergen | 77 | 75 | $3.7B | 134,381 | $24,524 | 79.9% | 14.9% |
| Sussex | 26 | 25 | $523.7M | 20,066 | $23,908 | 76.2% | 19.0% |
| Morris | 40 | 39 | $2.0B | 72,811 | $23,638 | 81.1% | 12.9% |
| Salem | 14 | 14 | $277.9M | 11,397 | $23,377 | 41.7% | 51.3% |
| Ocean | 29 | 28 | $1.6B | 64,231 | $22,807 | 74.8% | 21.5% |
| Warren | 24 | 24 | $408.1M | 15,846 | $22,706 | 61.7% | 31.2% |
| Passaic | 21 | 20 | $2.2B | 84,356 | $22,541 | 40.6% | 53.4% |
| Burlington | 41 | 39 | $1.7B | 71,003 | $22,351 | 61.8% | 31.7% |
| Hudson | 13 | 13 | $2.2B | 87,520 | $22,163 | 48.6% | 40.6% |
| Essex | 23 | 22 | $3.7B | 147,133 | $21,916 | 37.5% | 56.9% |
| Gloucester | 29 | 28 | $1.1B | 47,474 | $21,539 | 56.6% | 37.0% |
| Camden | 39 | 36 | $2.2B | 84,606 | $21,495 | 42.3% | 49.0% |
| Middlesex | 25 | 24 | $3.2B | 128,054 | $21,088 | 58.7% | 35.1% |
| Cumberland | 14 | 14 | $651.8M | 27,565 | $20,844 | 17.3% | 75.9% |
| Union | 23 | 21 | $2.5B | 100,474 | $20,724 | 46.8% | 49.9% |
How to use the district reports
The statewide explorer and lead sheets answer which districts look worth opening. A district report answers the next journalism question: what evidence makes the local budget story plausible, comparable, incomplete, or worth reporting further. The useful path starts with comparison scope, then checks inflation, categories, denominators, side files, and source rows before making a claim.
Useful sample reports show different budget shapes: Camden City for state-funded transfer pressure, Princeton for a locally funded high-cost peer frame, Newark for a large urban operating budget, South Orange-Maplewood for a mixed suburban budget, and Warren Co Special Service for a special-service denominator case.
| Reader job | Report section | Evidence to check | Do not overread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Establish the headline | Start with the story | Budget findings brief, reporting lead sheet, editorial frame, source coverage, relative-cost ladder, and similar-budget-model comps. | The generated lead ranks reportability. It is not a finding about school quality, efficiency, or cause. |
| Pick the fair comparison | Peer evidence and comparison matrix | Local peer strips, named neighbors, county and statewide ranks, funding-model slices, scale bands, tax basis, and tax effort. | A statewide rank alone can hide county cost structure, district scale, charter/special-service status, and local tax-base differences. |
| Separate proposal from trend | Proposal changes; trends and inflation | Latest revised/current-to-proposed rows, CPI-adjusted first-to-latest movement, peer-position trends, and per-student cost-change anatomy. | Nominal proposal changes and real long-run movement answer different questions. A gradual nominal increase is usually the baseline, not the story. |
| Explain the category story | Categories and lines; budget anatomy | High-level uses, budget-family context matrix, category history, named-line movement, operating sources, operating uses, special revenue, grants, debt, and all-funds scale. | UFB revenue and appropriation rows can be nested, contextual, or outside the operating fund. The report uses them as evidence, not as one additive schedule. |
| Check the student denominator | Costs and students | NJDOE comparative cost, operating budget per UFB on-roll, fall-enrollment scale, student need, special education, sent placements, received students, and labor context. | UFB planning on-roll is a budget denominator. Fall enrollment is profile context. Neither should be used to recompute NJDOE's published comparative-cost line. |
| Read side files as context | Side files and source rows | Projected balances, reserve rows, tax-rate slices, unusual items, shared services, school-resource statements, selected administrative salary rows, and visible UFB source rows. | Side files are self-reported context. They do not replace audited statements, tax bills, contracts, full payroll, or operating-budget totals. |
What a budget story should prove
- Relative cost: name the cost measure, comparison group, district value, comparison value, and gap.
- Real movement: say whether dollars are nominal or converted to 2025 dollars, and keep the loaded-year basis visible.
- Category explanation: name the spending, revenue, or pupil-cost category that moved or differs from peers, then link it to source rows.
- Denominator check: say whether the claim uses NJDOE comparative cost, UFB planning enrollment, fall enrollment, or a side-file basis.
- Reporting limit: state what the UFB files cannot prove without board documents, audits, tax records, contracts, staffing records, or local reporting.
Rows that appear extreme statewide are reporting leads. They still need local context: district type, enrollment basis, county peer set, and whether the row is an operating item, nested cost row, or outside-operating scale reference.
Gotchas
- The CSV filenames drift by year, so the loader discovers download links from each NJDOE year page.
- Some files are Windows-1252 rather than UTF-8. The loader falls back across encodings before parsing.
- The source mixes actual, revised, original-budget, and proposed-budget columns. Profile headlines use the proposed budget year; the profile line chart uses the NJDOE comparative-cost summary from each loaded budget year.
- A few rows report zero students and a zero comparative cost per pupil. Those rows keep their operating-budget data, but they are excluded from per-pupil ranks and trend charts.
- NJDOE cautions that salary and benefit data are self-reported by districts. District reports show listed administrative salary rows as context, not as complete payroll.
Primary source
Start with NJDOE's User Friendly Budgets page, then choose a year page for the downloadable CSV files and district PDFs.
The issue registry
Every dataset behind this site keeps a structured registry of its known issues — the format breaks, suppression rules, entry errors, and definitional traps we hit while building on it — so that the next person (or agent) who works with this data doesn't rediscover them the hard way. Each issue has a stable id, a machine-readable scope (which years, columns, and tables it touches), and an effect: breaks stops a pipeline, corrupts silently wrongs the numbers, misleads invites a wrong reading of right numbers, context is background you must hold to use the data responsibly. Issues marked ★ are core: read them before any use of this data. The registry is maintained in the ergo format and served in machine-readable form alongside this page — links at the end of this section.
New Jersey Department of Education, User Friendly Budgets · 2019-20 → 2025-26 · source confidence A · updated 2026-07-12 · 20 known issues (3 core)
The pitfall: The per-pupil figures are NJDOE's own published comparative-cost calculation, not something to recompute from spending and enrollment — and every dollar column silently mixes actual, revised, original, and proposed budget bases.
cp1252-encoding-drift [breaks · mitigated] Some UFB CSV downloads are not UTF-8 and break a naive decode
Type: format — applies to the whole dataset
How to spot it: raw.decode('utf-8') raises UnicodeDecodeError; the 2025-26 appropriation file decoded as Windows-1252
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
filename-suffix-drift [breaks · mitigated] CSV filenames use different year suffixes between years (rev26.csv vs rev25_minus_1.csv)
Type: availability — applies to the whole dataset
How to spot it: a hardcoded filename 404s; the same file family is rev26.csv one year and rev25_minus_1.csv another
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
mixed-budget-bases ★ [misleads · open] Actual-cost, original-budget, revised/current-budget, and proposed-budget columns are mixed within one file
Type: measurement — applies to years: all · tables: budget_revenue, budget_appropriation, budget_pupil_cost
How to spot it: revenue/appropriation amount_1..amount_3 and pupil_cost year_1..year_5 carry different budget bases across the same row
The misread: Reading a raw first-to-latest per-pupil or per-line rise as an audited year-over-year trend, or comparing a revised-budget figure against a proposed-budget figure as if they shared a basis.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
do-not-recompute-comparative-cost ★ [misleads · open] Comparative cost per pupil is NJDOE's own calculation; recomputing it gives a different number
Type: measurement — applies to years: all · tables: budget_pupil_cost, budget_summary · columns: comparative_cost*, Total Budgetary Comparative Per Pupil Cost
How to spot it: a total-spending / enrollment quotient disagrees with the published comparative-cost line
The misread: Dividing total spending by enrollment to get 'cost per pupil' — the result is not NJDOE's comparative cost and will not match the reader-facing published value.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
zero-comparative-cost-zero-enrollment [corrupts · mitigated] A few rows publish $0 comparative cost per pupil with 0 estimated on-roll
Type: entry — applies to tables: budget_summary · columns: comparative_cost*
How to spot it: comparative_cost_per_pupil <= 0 alongside estimated_onroll = 0
The misread: Treating $0 as a real value produces false 'lowest cost' ranks and '$0 per pupil' headlines.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
fund-specific-categories [misleads · open] Revenue and appropriation rows belong to specific funds, not one all-funds ledger
Type: definitional — applies to tables: budget_revenue, budget_appropriation
The misread: Summing operating, special-revenue, and debt-service rows into one mix, or labeling an operating revenue mix as an all-funds mix.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
overlapping-subtotal-detail-rows [misleads · open] Subtotal and detail rows overlap and do not add up to a clean total
Type: definitional — applies to tables: budget_revenue, budget_appropriation, budget_pupil_cost
How to spot it: detail lines exceed their parent subtotal because they are nested inside it
The misread: Stacking lower-level lines such as benefits, transportation, or plant operations as a full spending mix, or summing named source rows into one total.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
ufb-planning-vs-fall-enrollment ★ [misleads · open] UFB planning enrollment is the budget denominator and differs from fall enrollment
Type: definitional — applies to tables: budget_enrollment_ufb, budget_summary
How to spot it: budget_enrollment_ufb on-roll (lines 11 + 21) differs from the same-year district_enrollment fall count
The misread: Using fall enrollment to recompute UFB per-pupil values, or reading UFB on-roll as the district's fall headcount.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
sent-received-overlap [misleads · open] Enrollment file's sent and received rows are not mutually exclusive population categories
Type: definitional — applies to tables: budget_enrollment_ufb
The misread: Adding sent, received, private-placement, contract-preschool, and state-facility counts into one population total — they overlap and double-count.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
tax-rate-slices [misleads · mitigated] Estimated tax rates are per $100 of valuation, come in regional/municipal slices, and include implausible rows
Type: definitional — applies to tables: budget_tax_rate
How to spot it: budget_tax_rate rows over 20 per $100; regional districts carry multiple municipality rows (muniflag)
The misread: Reading a rate as a tax bill, summing slice rows into a district levy, or averaging an implausible source row into a district-wide rate.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
tax-levy-label-drift [corrupts · mitigated] The operating tax levy appears under different labels across years (Local Tax Levy / Local Tax Levy-Base Budget / Total Tax Levy)
Type: coding — applies to tables: budget_revenue · rows: operating tax-levy rows on revenue lines 100 and 114
How to spot it: the operating levy on revenue lines 100/114 changes label between years
The misread: A label-keyed trend renders the levy as disappearing one year and reappearing under a new name.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
line31-blank-labels [corrupts · mitigated] Enrollment line 31 (post-secondary, other) is sparse and carries blank labels in loaded CSVs
Type: format — applies to tables: budget_enrollment_ufb · rows: line_no = 31
How to spot it: budget_enrollment_ufb rows with line_no = 31 have an empty line_desc
The misread: Keying enrollment rows by label drops line 31, so post-secondary counts only line 30 and undercounts.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
recap-amount4-close-balance [misleads · open] Recap amount_4 is the projected close-of-year balance, not an appropriation
Type: definitional — applies to tables: budget_recap · columns: amount_4
The misread: Stacking recap amount_4 with current spending, or reading it as spendable cash — it is a projected balance, not an operating use.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
side-files-not-totals [context · open] The recap/esttax/unusual/shared/schapp/employees files are reader context, not replacement totals
Type: definitional — applies to tables: budget_recap, budget_unusual, budget_shared_services, budget_tax_rate, budget_school_resource, budget_admin_salary
The misread: Adding side-file rows to the operating budget, or double-counting an unusual-item row that also appears as a named revenue or appropriation line in the main files.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
shared-service-savings-self-reported [context · open] Shared-service amount_saved is district-reported, not an audited saving
Type: definitional — applies to tables: budget_shared_services · columns: amount_saved
The misread: Treating reported shared-service savings as audited offsets to spending.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
salary-self-reported [context · open] Administrative salary/benefit rows are self-reported and mix incompatible units
Type: definitional — applies to tables: budget_admin_salary
The misread: Summing the employees file into a payroll or total-compensation figure — it mixes dollars, days, FTE, shared-role flags, and free text — or treating the numbers as NJDOE-verified.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
admin-salary-header-drift [corrupts · mitigated] The administrative salary files changed the district-code header (district_id vs EMP_DISTRICT_ID)
Type: format — applies to years: all · tables: budget_admin_salary
How to spot it: older employees files carry EMP_DISTRICT_ID where newer files carry district_id
The misread: Keying on one header name silently drops the years that use the other, so those salary rows never join.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
ufb-coverage-gaps [context · open] Some district-profile entities have no matching UFB row at all
Type: coverage — applies to entities: charter, special-services, and education-services-commission profiles without a matching UFB district row
The misread: Reading a district's absence from the UFB files as $0 or lowest cost rather than as unreported — charters, special-services districts, and education services commissions may not file a district UFB.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
omitted-distress-districts [breaks · mitigated] NJDOE omits some fiscally-stressed districts from the statewide UFB revenue/recap files
Type: coverage — applies to entities: Lakewood Twp (2520) FY2023-24 + FY2024-25; Jackson Twp (2360) FY2023-24
How to spot it: a district present in the tax-rate and per-pupil files is absent from rev/recap/enrollment for the same year; among 250 enrollment-1500+ districts only Lakewood and Jackson had gaps
The misread: Treating a missing district-year as no data or as $0, when a NJDOE per-district UFB PDF or the audited ACFR carries the figures.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
doe-loan-in-state-sources [misleads · mitigated] The Department of Education Loan Against State Aid sits inside Total State Sources but is debt, not aid
Type: definitional — applies to entities: districts drawing a DOE loan against state aid — chronically Lakewood (2520); occasionally one or two others
How to spot it: acct 10-3199 (line 495) is a component of Total Revenues from State Sources (line 520); Lakewood's stored state revenue swings $34M-$147M year to year, tracking the loan, not its aid
The misread: Counting the loan as state aid inflates a district's state share and injects spurious volatility. Lakewood reads as 48% state-funded in 2025-26 with the loan, ~23% without it.
Full entry, with the story and the numbers, in the served ergo doc.
Changelog
- — Converted to ergo format: 18 issues registered; the ~50-bullet gotcha list sorted into dataset issues vs. surface-methodology narrative with zero bullets lost.
- — Two issues registered for the budget-pressure-signals report: omitted-distress-districts (Lakewood/Jackson backfilled from primary sources via backfill_budget_gaps.py) and doe-loan-in-state-sources (new budget_summary.doe_loan_against_aid column; signals net the DOE loan out of aid/local shares).
Machine-readable: this page as an ergo doc · all datasets (index.json) · format: ergo · implementation: source repo