Questions on the Berkeley Heights Public School Audit

The following is the first in a series of articles about questions presented to the Berkeley Heights Public School District Business Administrator on the 2023 Audit submitted to the State of NJ before Berkeley Heights families and taxpayers could review the document and ask questions contrary to state statute and our historical process.

In reviewing the 2023 Audit document submitted to the NJ DOE (ACFR) I came across ” Miscellaneous Expenditures” under Support Services General Administration, Exhibit C-1 Sheet #5.

This number seemed high for such a vague category and I compared it to the other Districts on our Dashboard.

We have the highest per pupil cost in this category and the highest spend, which seems odd when you consider our total enrollment has been on a steady decline since 2018, higher only than New Providence, which is on a more consistent trajectory on this variable.

I reviewed prior ACFRs from BHPS and discovered that the amount spent on this area this year spiked significantly from years prior. In 2022, we spent $95 per pupil on this area; in 2023, we spent $128. If you multiply the difference by total enrollment the amount comes to about $80,652

Madison is the nearest District for per-pupil spend in this area – $45 per pupil. If you multiply the difference in per-pupil spending between Madison and Berkeley Heights by total enrollment, the amount comes to about $202,852.

If you kept Berkeley Heights spending stable in this area from the prior year, it would still have the highest per-pupil cost out of the 7 Districts on our Dashboard.

Misc. Expenditures is part of a larger category on the ACFR (Support Services-General Administration). When you look at the overall category, more questions arise.

Berkeley Heights has the highest per-pupil spend in the overall category and spends more than $240 per pupil than the 7-District Average. Multiplied by our 2023 enrollment, that comes to $585,000.

And if we were to simply wipe away the $300,000 question mark under misc. expenditures, Berkeley Heights would still have the highest per pupil cost for the overall category.

And so this brings me to my final question – how is this money being used to support our students?

Last week, I emailed the Business Administrator requesting an explanation and am yet to hear back.

Link to ACFR 7-District Spreadsheet

Source Material

All Articles on the 2024 Budget

Read More on BOE Meeting Agendas