TOMS RIVER - There is some good news for parents amid the Toms River Regional school budget crisis: the price of school breakfasts and lunches is set to come down.
The Board of Education is expected to agree to lowering the daily price of school breakfasts by 50 cents and school lunches by 75 cents, as the district has an adequate balance in the food service fund.
Superintendent Mike Citta said that the funds for food services, including cafeteria meals, can only be used for food, and cannot be used in the general budget. The district's food service budget should break even in spite of the reduction in prices, he said.
"The cafeteria fund is in good shape," Citta said. "It's a separate fund that we cannot use for anything besides feeding kids."
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The price reductions would be for students in elementary, intermediate and high school.
The reduced lunch prices could take some of the sting out of a potential 9.9% increase in school taxes that district taxpayers could face. That tax increase would cost Toms River property owners an additional $325 annually on a Toms River house assessed at $446,100, the township's average. Toms River taxpayers are responsible for more than 90% of the taxes that support Toms River Regional schools.
In Beachwood, taxes would increase $270 a year for an average house, assessed at $207,700; the increase would be $307 a year in Pine Beach, on an average assessment of $412,000. and $134 a year in South Toms River, on a $194,500 average assessment, school Business Administrator William J. Doering has said.
The school board unanimously turned down a $291 million budget for the 2024-2025 school year that included the tax increase, after no additional state aid was included in New Jersey's budget to help close a $26 million aid gap in Toms River. Citta said July 17 that the district has had no communication from the state or the county about its budget, but Toms River's school board did agree to sue the state at its July 3 meeting, hiring the Busch Law firm to pursue litigation.
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With a reduction in school lunch prices, a parent with one child in the school district could save $131 a year in meal costs, according to Toms River Regional estimates. That could reduce some of the sting of the potential tax increase, officials said.
The state Department of Agriculture has also approved free school lunches and breakfasts for all students in Walnut Street, Joseph A. Citta and Pine Beach elementary schools. Those schools will join South Toms River in offering free breakfasts and lunches to all kids through the state program.
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Citta said the district is in the process of getting appraisals for various properties, including its headquarters at 1144 Hooper Ave., the transportation yard and other pieces of property that Toms River Regional may have to consider selling to balance the budget if its lawsuit against the state is not successful.
The budget voted down by the board includes no position cuts or reductions in extracurricular activities or sports. But the board may be faced with difficult choices if Toms River Regional is unsuccessful in its suit.
Jean Mikle covers Toms River, Seaside Heights and several other Ocean County towns. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.
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