Somerset-Berkeley School Committee adopts $22.5 million FY27 budget in unanimous vote

SOMERSET — March 31, 2026 — Somerset-Berkeley Regional School Committee unanimously adopted a $22.5 million budget for fiscal year 2027 and restructured a 12-year-old cost-sharing formula with its K-8 partner district. The committee voted 6-0 on all three major actions at its March 31 meeting: approving a gross operating budget of $22,546,948 — a 2.57 percent increase over the prior year — reducing Somerset bus routes from 14 to 8 to save roughly $115,000, and increasing the region's share of shared central office salaries from 35 percent to 40 percent for fiscal years 2027 and 2028, adding $88,813 to the regional budget. Superintendent Dr. Alan Schoonover said health insurance came in at 7.1 percent — below the budgeted 9 percent — saving $32,748. Somerset's combined operating and capital assessment is $11,303,136; Berkeley's is $3,686,696. The meeting opened with a resignation statement from grade 10-11 English teacher Neville Morgan-Berry, who cited 25 years of program cuts, deferred building maintenance, and four student hospitalizations this year, concluding with "a symbolic vote of no confidence for those who have chosen to not support their children, their teachers, and their staff."