On Tuesday, Feb. 24, Gov. Sherrill signed P.L.2026, c.1 (S-3219/A-4073), which extended the date by which the governor’s fiscal year 2027 budget message is to be transmitted to the legislature to Tuesday, March 10, 2026. The governor is normally required to announce the proposed state budget by the fourth Tuesday of February, but it is customary for the legislature to grant a newly elected governor two additional weeks to develop the proposed budget.

The delay of the governor’s budget message means that school districts will also receive their state aid figures two weeks later than usual. Following the signing of the bill, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) released the following information on revisions to the 2026 school election and budget procedures calendar (also available in NJDOE’s broadcast memo):

The NJDOE’s School Finance webpage contains the revised 2026 School Election and Budget Procedures Calendar. The revised 2026 calendar supersedes all previous versions.

The NJDOE has changed several key dates pursuant to P.L.2026, c.1, N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-5c, N.J.S.A. 19:60-1, N.J.S.A. 19:60-2 and N.J.S.A. 19:11-1, in order to provide local boards of education and boards of school estimate sufficient time to prepare and submit an itemized budget to the executive county superintendent of schools. Most importantly, the following revisions to the budget due date may have resulted in additional changes to the date that your district’s budget is due to the County Offices of Education:

  • Type II districts with an April election (including regional school districts) moved from March 6, 2026, to March 18, 2026 (reference Table 1 in the revised election calendar).
  • Type II districts with a November election (including regional school districts) moved from March 19, 2026, to March 27, 2026 (reference Table 2 in the revised election calendar).
  • Type I districts moved from March 6, 2026, to March 18, 2026 (reference Table 3 in the revised election calendar).
  • School districts under state intervention moved from March 6, 2026, to March 18, 2026 (reference Table 4 in the revised election calendar).
  • County vocational districts moved from March 6, 2026, to March 18, 2026 (reference Table 5 in the revised election calendar).
  • County special services school districts moved from March 6, 2026, to March 18, 2026 (reference Table 6 in the revised election calendar).
  • Educational services commissions moved from March 9, 2026, to March 18, 2026 (reference Table 7 in the revised election calendar).

For April election districts, Type I districts, and state-operated districts, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-9.1 and due to the compressed budget timeline, Commissioner approval has been granted to advertise the budget for the public hearing before receiving executive county superintendent approval. The advertisement must include a statement that the budget is being advertised before executive county superintendent approval. The approval must be completed before holding the public hearing, and the approved budget must be discussed at the public hearing.

For November election districts, approval from the executive county superintendent must be obtained before advertising the budget.

The above summarizes a key revision for each district type. However, the NJDOE strongly suggests a careful review of the entire table of dates that applies to your district type.

Contact Information

Please email questions regarding this change to: budget@doe.nj.gov.