By Sunayana Prabhu
HOLMDEL – Township officials are moving to purchase the board of education-owned Adeline “Addy” Holmes Lubkert property for $1.03 million, while also considering a possible renewal of the $600,000 shared services agreement to preserve courtesy busing, as the district approved a tentative $76.3 million 2026-27 budget March 25.
Additional efforts to bolster school finances for the next fiscal year include at least 26 staff cuts and a 7.19% tax increase.
The moves came as the school district confronted a nearly $5 million deficit with mounting pressure from rising transportation and health care costs, two issues affecting districts statewide.
According to state aid figures released March 12 by the New Jersey Department of Education Office of School Finance, the Holmdel School District will receive a 1.46% bump in state aid, roughly a $72,000 increase from last year, bringing the total state aid for fiscal year 2026-27 to $5,053,820. Revenue from the new tax levy is approximately $70 million.
For Holmdel residents, the tax hike will translate to roughly $700 annually or $63.51 per month on the average residential assessed value of $1,129,951. The Holmdel School District receives nearly 69% of Holmdel’s overall tax levy.
A public hearing on the final budget adoption is scheduled for April 29.
In addition to one-time funding infusions – the purchase of the property and the shared services agreement – the township committee debated how it can support the district long-term, including sharing revenue from the PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) tied to the redevelopment of the former Vonage site at 23 Main St.
A One-Time $1.03M Bridge
The Addy Holmes property is situated along 34 Crawfords Corner Road, within a mile of William Satz Middle School and Holmdel High School. An ordinance authorizing its purchase using the town’s Open Space Trust Fund was introduced at the March 24 committee meeting, with a final adoption set for April 14.
Mayor Rocco Impreveduto noted that, while the township is facilitating the transaction, the BOE alone will decide how to spend the proceeds.
“We don’t weigh in on board policy. The million dollars that will come out of the purchase of Addy’s house goes to whatever priorities the board thinks it should go to,” Impreveduto said.
Because the town is using open space funds, the property will be legally restricted against intensive development.
For now, the mayor said, the plan is to keep the house “as is.”
According to Addy Holmes’ obituary published in 2016, the Holmes family included some of the first European settlers of Monmouth County in the late 1600s, and “Holmes” may be the basis for the name “Holmdel.”
BOE President Peter Reddy said one of the “main reasons” the board purchased the house through a public referendum in 2019 was to preserve the open space and history. According to state property tax records, the BOE purchased the nearly 3.1-acre property for $625,000.
“Right now, our reserves are definitely empty,” Reddy said, and the township’s purchase of the house “is definitely going to help.”
Courtesy Busing
At the meeting, Impreveduto noted that, while the township is not in debt, its “surplus is declining,” when Committee member Joe Romano proposed renewing the $600,000 shared services agreement for courtesy busing. The township offered the agreement to the BOE last year as a one-time funding opportunity.
“We could find the money to do it,” Romano said.
The surplus “needs to decline another $600,000; we can’t lose courtesy busing,” he added.
Courtesy busing provides free transportation for students who live within 2 miles of their elementary or middle school or within 2.5 miles of the high school. Under state guidelines, transportation for students within these distances is the responsibility of parents, but the Holmdel School District funds this service as a courtesy. According to the BOE, the program impacts approximately 700 to 800 students in town at an annual cost of $600,000 to $800,000.
Reddy noted that state auditors have long criticized courtesy busing as financially irresponsible under state rules, even as Holmdel continued it for years. Reddy reminded everyone that nearly 12 years ago, courtesy busing did not exist and currently at least three other districts in Monmouth County have stopped courtesy busing, including Hazlet, which ended the service last week, he said.
However, many residents argued that busing is about safety and property values, not just school budgets.
“People are coming because of the school system. So, if the town council considers supporting the schools from a longer shared service agreements plan, ultimately it will benefit taxpayers. It’s a property value issue, not a school issue,” resident Chandana Rao said.
After extended debate, the committee voted to table the motion, requesting full municipal budget impacts and to coordinate more closely with the BOE.
Deputy Mayor Brian Foster warned that a new $600,000 commitment, on top of everything else, could have cascading impacts.
“If we’re going to lose more teachers because of courtesy busing, I’m not in favor of that. My kids would also be subject to that. So, I’m not comfortable with losing more teachers because of that,” Foster said.
A Share of PILOT Funds
Township officials have also agreed to share PILOT funds with the BOE, starting around $245,000 per year and increasing over time. PILOT revenue is expected from the upcoming redevelopment of the former Vonage campus, which will become Azura of Holmdel, a senior residential and care community.
A PILOT is a financial arrangement between municipalities and developers that incentivizes redevelopers to make fixed payments to the municipality rather than pay traditional property taxes. PILOT payments primarily go to the municipality, which allows it to keep the tax rate stable.
The article originally appeared in the April 2 – 8, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
