2025 Taxpayers Guide to Education Spending - Ratio of Students to Classroom Teachers and Median Salary

 Well, here's the Ratio and Median Salary for Middlesex County:

Here's to Ratio and Median Salary for the Top 25 Schools in the State:

Anyhoo, it is what it is here in the DemBadLands of Downtown Edison.

JP Stevens Hall of Honor - Class of 2026

 Well, Congratulations to all the nominees and selections. Shout-out to Andrew Toth, Chief, Edison Division of Fire.

When the bulk of your $358M School budget is in Salaries & Benefits - failing to provide a headcount schedule lacks transparency

 Well, whatever you want to say about this year's constantly changing school budget, there's one thing you can say with certainly.

You can't really understand the staffing levels since they won't tell you how their staffing breaks down by title, what the staffing requirements are this year, how that has changed from the prior year and why. Not only that but they also fail to show you how many non-budgeted heads were hired between July 1 and February 1 when they update their budget numbers to actual. Also known as the 'Staffing Shell Game'. Throw in 'Breakage' and other salary line games and you can see why letting them get away without producing a headcount schedule for the budget is critical.

Be that as it may, I just asked for and received the school districts salary file. I summarized it so you at least see what we're talking about in terms of magnitude. This file came with 2,603 names of which 2,406 had salary numbers. 

The total salaries are a whopping $191,230,525.

Here's a breakdown of the heads and dollars:

Also, created a table so you can see each person by name, location, department and title. This allows you to sort the file anyway you want to see it and to see how many of each position there are on the payroll.

Here's a picture of one of the breakdowns. this shows the top 25 salaries:

Here's another showing the Central Services department:

Information is important. This is an Excel file and if anybody wants to see it, you're welcome to it. Jut drop me an email.

Anyhoo, the Board of Mythomania should insist that the School Budget come with a headcount schedule by department showing last year's budget, last year's budget updated for actuals and this year's budget.

Yet another change to the 2026-27 Ridiculous Edison School Budget - Hard to believe this Board has Oversight of some $358 million

Well, looks like they changed the 2026-27 School Budget on their website again. The first version came with a School tax rate of 3.483 which was 10.97% over last year's 3.139.

Their second version came with School tax rate of 3.299 which was 5.09% over last year's 3.139.

Now, it appears to have changed again and this School Budget comes with School tax rate of 3.2033 which is 2.05% over last year's 3.139.

Seems they really don't know what heck they're doing since their presentation doesn't ever agree to their final numbers in this version. Seems this version comes with a reduction in the fiscal year tax levy of some $14 million and an increase in the Ratables of some $4 million over what the tax department reported in an OPRA.

So, once again under this version - take your home's assessed value divided by 100 and multiply it by 3.2033 and you'll get your total school tax and by .0643 (3.2033-3.1390) and you'll get your school tax increase over last year.

Their School Budget games are just as Ridiculous as their Oversight. Hard to believe the stupidity.

Anyhoo, should of never moved the School Board Elections to November and given up our Right to Vote on School Budgets.

Revised $359.7M 2026-27 School Budget - School tax rate down to 3.299 from 3.483 or 5.09% over last year's 3.139 0r 10.97%

Well, if you live in that imaginary home assessed at $186,900, then this budget has a school tax rate of 3.299 which will raise your school taxes to $6,166 with an increase of .16 cents over last year's 3.139 or $299 (5.08%).

If you don't live in that imaginary house assessed at $186,900, then take your home's assessed value divided by 100 and multiply it by 3.299 to get you total school taxes and by .160 to get your school tax increase over last year.

.

Here's the $359.7M 2026-27 School Budget up on their website - a serious joke on the People of Edison:

Anyhoo, it's what happens when you don't have adequate Oversight.

With ineffective Oversight over there on Mythomania Lane - You Knew a Big School Tax Hit was coming

Well, the inability to control Out-of-Control $pending while pissing away all that State Aid money and nonsense piecemeal plans yet still not properly addressing the Overcrowding - look to the incompetence of Jerry 'ReferenDumb' Shi, aka Mr. Shi-shed, Mr. Pac-Man and his band of P's in a Pod for bringing us to this point.

Here's the State aid over the last 6 years:

Where did all that money go?

Here's the notice they put out when sending the Preliminary 2026-27 School Budget down to the County Super for approval:

This shows the taxes to be raised of $263,214,748, which is a Whopping $28,201,580 increase or 12% over last year's school tax levy.

Here's what they're showing on their website last I looked:

From this, you can tell what the School Tax Rate is that's built into this 2026-27 School Budget.

They're saying the Proposed Preliminary Annual School Tax (2026 Calendar Year) is $6,510 on the average home's assessed 

value. They also tell you that average home assessed's value this year is $186,900.

So, if you divide the $6,510 by the 1,869, you'll get a School tax rate of 3.483. When compared to last year's School tax rate of 3.139, you get an increase of 34.4-Cents or 10.97%.

You can verify this by taking the school tax levy of $263,214,748 and dividing it by the Estimated Rateables per township of $7,556,614,900 and you'll get a school tax rate of 3.483.

Got a request in to see the 2026-27 School Budget once approved by the County Super.

Three things are undoubtedly true in this one-party town;

1. Thank Shi's inept stewardship and his cronies over the years for the current Board of Ed position.
2. Mayor Sam 'Bubble-boy" Joshi should stay on his own side of town. With that Rin-Tin-Tin Can down on Central avenue - he's the last guy that should be talking about fiscal responsibility. And the hypocrisy of this guy goes to no end - he actually tried to take credit for the school tax reduction as his own when he had a tax increase. Arguably an incompetent buffoon and Malleable Marionette of the powers that be that could only survive his inept stewardship in a protective bubble. A Mayor who has turned the town into an embarrassment.
3. Oversight is everything and when it doesn't exist, this is what you get on both sides of this politically-corrupt town.

Anyhoo, you get what you vote for - Enjoy.

 

Bubble-boy lied about it, his 'Pocket Council' won't put it on the ballot - so, You have to do it if you want to have any hope of removing the Politically-corrupt Dem-party Stranglehold on this town

David Tingle - For Edison's Future

February 11 at 7:30 AM · 

Edison residents, if you want to see real change in our township, this is where it starts.

We need 4,892 signatures to give voters the opportunity to decide on a Ward System.

This isn’t about politics. It’s about representation. It’s about every neighborhood having a voice.

If you believe Edison deserves fair, local representation, reach out and volunteer to help collect signatures. Every signature matters. Every conversation matters.

Let’s put it on the ballot and let the people decide.

Message me if you’re ready to help.

 

Anyhoo, it doesn't take much to ask the People of Edison what kind of representation they want to have. Get out and help collect the needed signatures.