GLP-1 Drug Costs Cited as Heights Schools Hike Taxes and Cut Staff

Confronting rising health insurance costs and relatively low state aid, the Haddon Heights Board of Education on Tuesday approved a 2026-27 school budget that raises taxes, eliminates staff positions, and signals deeper cuts could follow.

The $33.1 million spending plan relies on a local school tax levy of $17.4 million, a 6.93 percent increase, alongside $9.9 million in tuition from sending districts Barrington, Lawnside, and Merchantville. Add in $2.5 million in state aid, and $810,000 in prior-year fund balance and revenues total $31.8 million, leaving a gap that administrators are closing with staff reductions, higher student fees, and trims to instructional resources.

For a home assessed at $500,000, the school tax portion of the bill will rise to $641.16 annually, according to district figures.

Board president Erin Miller described the budget as "the ultimate lose-lose," saying the district is eliminating academic positions while also targeting taxpayers. She noted that some residents will absorb school and municipal tax increases at the same time and estimated that certain households could see pretty hefty bills, with the municipal portion coming in at $170 annually for those assessed at the borough average.

District officials have been previewing the pressure for months, warning in February that a steep health care spike and delayed state aid numbers would force difficult choices.

Earlier coverage of those budget talks is online at Haddon Heights Schools Prepare For Health Care Spike as Board Starts Tough Budget Talks and the March adoption of a tentative plan at Haddon Heights School Tax Levy Up 6.93% as State Aid Falls and Health Costs Add $1.2 Million Ten Positions Cut, Activity Fees Rise

To help close the gap, Superintendent Carla Bittner said the district will eliminate 10 positions: three full-time and seven part-time. The move will affect three current employees and several unfilled roles.

Cuts include:

· Supervisor of pupil personnel services at the junior-senior high school

· One full-time mathematics teacher at the junior-senior high school

· One part-time mathematics teacher

· One part-time financial literacy teacher at the junior-senior high school

· Four elementary lunch aides

· Additional unfilled elementary positions

Bittner said 81 percent of the district budget is tied to salaries and benefits, which limits flexibility when revenues fall short.

She said administrators recognize the human impact of those decisions.

"We recognize that people are losing their jobs, and that's a terrible, terrible position to be in," Bittner said.

The budget also trims online instructional resources and raises student activity fees by $50 per student, including at the elementary level. Bittner said the district will ensure that students in families facing financial hardship, including those receiving free and reduced-price lunch, can still participate in activities even if they cannot afford the higher fees.

Miller told residents she is mindful of families already dealing with job losses or reduced income, and said she is concerned about how compounded tax increases will land. She also said neighboring districts are being driven toward even deeper cuts and questioned how long Haddon Heights can avoid more substantial program reductions.

Bittner said she expects to be back before the community next year, talking about more actual people losing their jobs and class sizes increasing, even as the administration tries to protect core offerings. She argued that the current plan still preserves the "integrity of our programs as much as possible." GLP-1 Drugs Emerge as Part of Spike

Health benefits have been the single largest driver of the district's shortfall.

Earlier this year, administrators braced for a 22.84 percent increase in health insurance premiums.

The final renewal came in lower, at 18.84 percent, which freed about $95,000, not nearly enough to erase the budget gap.

Bittner said those savings are already reserved to manage routine fluctuations, such as new staff enrolling in coverage or existing employees changing plan levels during the year.

Miller attributed a portion of the surge to GLP-1 medications, a class of drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity whose growing use has pushed up claims in public and private insurance plans across New Jersey.

Her comments mirror broader national concerns. A 2025 brief from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, supported by Aon, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, JP Morgan Chase, and PhRMA, projected that expanding coverage of GLP-1 drugs in employer-sponsored plans could raise premiums by about 5.3 percent to 13.8 percent at current prices, depending on how many people qualify and how consistently they take the medications. The brief noted that even with potential longterm health gains, savings are uncertain and unlikely to fully offset drug costs, particularly if patients must stay on them indefinitely.

Policy chair Bryan Schroeder asked whether the district could limit specific medications or procedures in its health plan to rein in costs. Business administrator Donna Phillips said state rules require the district to offer either the School Employees' Health Benefits Program or a plan that is deemed better, and that local officials cannot simply choose coverage with fewer benefits.

She said she would follow up with the district's insurance provider to clarify what, if any, local control exists over particular drugs and services.

The same health cost dynamics are hitting staff paychecks.

Bittner said some employees will see lower net pay next year despite salary increases, because their health benefit contributions are tied to income and rise when they move into higher brackets.

"If you bump up into another bracket, you pay a greater percentage," Bittner said. "We will have staff members whose literal paycheck will look less." She said she has already alerted the payroll office to prepare for questions when employees receive their first checks in the new school year.

Capital Funds Locked to Buildings, Not Jobs

Even as operating cuts fall on people and programs, the district is moving forward with more than $1.1 million in capital projects funded through its capital reserve, a separate account that, under state law, can be used only for facilities, not staff salaries.

The 2026-27 budget authorizes:

· A $1 million withdrawal to build a new esports and robotics space at the junior-senior high school

· $150,000 for roofing work across the district

Phillips said she plans to seek three quotes for the esports lab to secure a competitive price and hopes to use state-approved contractors. If successful, the district could avoid a lengthy bid process.

Bittner said she has applied for grants and met with staff from U.S. Sen. Cory Booker's office in search of additional funding. She told employees not to expect the new space to be ready before 2027.

She emphasized that, despite public perception, the capital reserve cannot legally be repurposed to save teaching positions or other operating staff.

Technology costs are another strain. Bittner said lease expenses for student Chromebooks have risen from $50,000 to $230,000, taking up a growing share of the technology budget even as the district works to maintain one-to-one student access to devices.

Despite these pressures, Bittner said the budget preserves several priorities: relatively small class sizes, a range of extracurricular offerings, and professional development for staff. She pointed to the recent hiring of world language and science teachers and said those candidates chose Haddon Heights because they perceived a supportive culture for both educators and students.

During Teacher Appreciation Week, Bittner publicly extended the recognition to paraprofessionals, nurses, and custodians, saying they "all act as teachers every single day." State Aid Gap Leaves a Burden

While health insurance is the most visible year-to-year pressure, district leaders said a deeper structural challenge is Haddon Heights' comparatively low share of state funding.

Phillips said state aid, including extraordinary special education aid, represents about eight percent of the district's budget. Comparable figures in nearby communities are higher: Haddon Township at 19 percent, Audubon at 32 percent, Barrington at 20 percent, Merchantville at 39 percent, and Lawnside at 50 percent.

"That's how much state aid matters to them," Phillips said.

"We're only eight percent." Bittner said she and Phillips are working with other South Jersey districts to press for changes to the state school funding formula. They are also trying to engage legislative leaders, including Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, on the issue.

During public comment, instructional aide Sharita Stinson urged the board to move beyond internal discussions and participate directly in advocacy at the county and state levels. She said that through the Camden County Education Association council, educators and supporters do a lot of policy work, and she encouraged board members to show up for that work rather than limiting their focus to local policies, funding, and reorganization.

"We have to go outside of our district and make noise for our kids," Stinson said. "Education in America is important. We see what is happening, where it's happening. However, we as constituents, taxpayers, as parents, grandparents, communities, we have the opportunity to change the trajectory of where education is going," and to model for students how to rally around what they believe is right.

Neighboring Districts Feel Strain

The pressures in Haddon Heights echo those in nearby communities.

Miller said she is aware that some New Jersey districts are already cutting deep into programs and staff, and that she is "grateful we're not at that place," while questioning how long Haddon Heights can avoid similar steps if current trends persist.

Students Worry About Enrollment, Identity

Student representatives used their time at the meeting to focus on a different kind of risk: enrollment, as sending district tuition is a major money maker for the district.

The projected enrollment numbers for 3HS depicted 249 students coming from Barrington, 220 from Haddon Heights, 147 from Lawnside, 180 from Merchantville, and 40 through school choice.

They said more eighth-graders in the sending districts may be considering other high school options, and urged the administration to more actively showcase outcomes for Haddon Heights graduates. They suggested that sharing where alumni enroll after high school on the district's main social media accounts, along with in-person outreach, could help persuade families to choose Heights.

Bittner praised students for fostering an inclusive climate and said preserving extracurriculars and a full range of courses remains central to the district's mission, even as the budget tightens.

New Cell Phone Law Leaves Policy in Limbo

The board also discussed a newer statewide issue with murky local implications: New Jersey's recently adopted law on student cell phone use in schools.

Bittner said the district's policy provider, Strauss Esmay, has declined so far to issue model language because of disagreement over how the statute should be implemented. She told the board that an advocate, who is also a superintendent, helped champion the measure and also has since publicly stated that the law was never intended to create a full-day, "bell-to-bell" ban on phones.

Instead, according to Bittner, the advocate has argued that the law should apply only to instructional time, not to lunch or study halls. Because of the apparent conflict between the text of the law and its stated intent, Strauss Esmay has notified districts that it is "not sending guidance until this is fixed," leaving local boards without a recommended template.

For now, Bittner said Haddon Heights retains discretion over student phone expectations and that she is not ready to recommend a formal policy change linked to the new law until final guidance is issued.

Bittner and board members said they will continue to push for changes in state policy and funding, even as they prepare for another year of constrained choices. Stinson and other advocates urged them to bring students, staff, and community members into that work, and to treat the budget not just as a ledger, but as a lesson in how public systems can be challenged and changed.