‘We’re fixing things’

In a tough budget year when many New Jersey districts are slashing programs and staff, the Middlesex Borough school district is navigating the rough economic waters without either.

That was the message of School Superintendent Dr. Roberta Freeman on Tuesday, March 24 as she reviewed the proposed 2026-27 budget with the Board of Education. Freeman identified the items causing the greatest headaches for school officials and outlined how they’re being handled. 

They include contractual salary obligations, rising special education costs, and a $1.4 million increase in the staff health insurance expense. The board was expected to vote the following evening to send the budget to Middlesex County for approval.

If the district’s $57.1 million spending plan goes unchanged, the owner of the average Middlesex Borough home, assessed at a bit more than $483,000, would pay $276 more in school taxes. Freeman noted that equates to $23 per month.

The presentation was part financial lesson, part spirited defense by Freeman of district initiatives and her record. She openly referred to her critics’ social media comments that the district was in better shape prior to her leadership. Freeman has been Middlesex Borough superintendent since December 2022.

She zeroed in on 2019 for a comparison. That year, Freeman pointed out, class sizes exceeded best practices, there were fewer staff observations by administrators, curriculum was not fully aligned with state learning standards, and there was not programming consistency across district buildings.

“These really bad practices were allowed to happen because of our infrastructure,” Freeman said. 

“We’ve had to fix these structural things,” she added. “Are they the things that are going to show up in a budget? No, but they’re happening. We can always do better and strive to do better and we should.”

Freeman also answered social media criticism that has sometimes focused on the district’s standardized test scores, asserting they are not out of line with comparable districts in the county.

The superintendent said she is not claiming the scores are “stellar,” but need to be viewed in context. “When I read that we are under-performing,” Freeman said, “I take that a little personal. There are lies that are out there on social media. Enough is enough.”

During the budget presentation, Freeman said 59% of the district’s 2026-27 budget will be funded through property taxes.  State aid will account for 36% with federal money funding the remaining 5%.

The district’s state aid will increase by roughly $731,000. Board President Danielle Parenti noted that will only cover about half of the $1.4 million health benefit hike.

Freeman said that during budget work, officials were faced with closing an $800,000 gap. To do so, they undertook attrition strategies, restructuring initiatives  and looked for operational efficiencies.

Longtime vacant staff positions are being eliminated, she said. Kindergarten teacher assistants are being reassigned to special education. While special ed costs came in “very high,” according to Freeman, a specific total was not mentioned.

There will be a half-dozen students eligible for an age 18 to 21 special education program next year. Since the Middlesex school system does not have its own program, they would have to be sent to out-of-district, Freeman said.

“We don’t get to choose where we’re sending these kids,” Parenti added. “Some need specialized situations.” Special ed students sent out-of-district generate tuition expenses for their home district.

Three years forward, there will be even more special education students eligible for the 18-21 program. That being the case, staff is generating a proposal for an in-district program, Freeman said. That would cut costs and could generate revenue by having outside students sent to Middlesex on a tuition basis.

“The first thing we have to have is space,” Freeman said.

The district is not looking to cut administrative costs, according to Freeman. “There is no area in administration, that I can identify, that we can reduce,” she said. “Admins are not something that drive this budget.”

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