Sustainable School Finances

These costs are growing quickly. The students behind them still come first.

In Livingston’s budget, “tuition” means something very specific: spending for Livingston-resident students receiving special-education instructional services outside the district. I want to understand how quickly these costs are growing without ever reducing the students receiving those services to a line on a spreadsheet.

Last reviewed: September 16, 2026

FACT CALCULATION

The financial trend is significant, and it deserves context.

The chart starts all three series at 100 in FY2022 so we can compare growth rates fairly even though the underlying dollar amounts are very different. The goal is not to dramatize the number; it is to see the trend clearly enough to plan for it.

Tuition for Livingston students educated outside the district vs. General Fund levy growthIndexed to FY2022 = 100. Solid tuition line = audited actuals; dashed tuition line = revised/budgeted observations.

Outside-district tuitionActual General Fund levyOrdinary 2% benchmark

Exact dollars behind the visual. The index makes growth rates comparable; this table shows every underlying dollar series so the comparison is transparent.

Dollar values used in the indexed comparison
Fiscal year	Tuition grouping	Tuition source status	Actual General Fund levy	Ordinary 2% levy benchmark
FY2022	$5,538,416	Audited actual	$111,115,953	$111,115,953
FY2023	$5,503,078	Audited actual	$114,141,214	$113,338,272
FY2024	$7,047,161	Audited actual	$117,024,038	$115,605,038
FY2025	$7,451,371	Audited actual	$123,752,921	$117,917,138
FY2026	$8,663,878	Revised appropriation	$128,457,842	$120,275,481
FY2027	$10,087,681	Budgeted appropriation	$136,638,078	$122,680,991

The benchmark starts with the FY2022 General Fund levy and compounds that amount by 2% annually. It is a comparison line, not a statement that the tuition accounts themselves are legally capped at 2%.

Outside-district tuition182.1FY2027 index

Actual General Fund levy123.0FY2027 index

Ordinary 2% benchmark110.4FY2027 index

ANALYSIS

I see this as a planning challenge, not an argument against the services themselves. The comparison shows budget pressure; it does not create a legal 2% cap on an individual tuition account, and it does not prove that any particular program was cut because of tuition growth. The important question is how Livingston plans for a recurring cost that is growing quickly while continuing to meet the needs of every student.

Source-status note. FY2022–FY2025 uses audited ACFR C-1 actuals for the same three-account grouping. Livingston’s later 2026–27 Budget Book retrospectively reports FY2025 “Expended” tuition of $7,727,793, which does not equal the audited C-1 actual of $7,451,371. This page keeps the audited figure and flags that difference for reconciliation instead of silently mixing the sources.

What makes up the tuition number?

Here is what the number actually includes.

I want the explanation to start with the students and services, not accounting codes. For anyone who wants to check the details, the formal NJDOE accounts and definitions are available below.

View the 2026–27 account-level breakout

11-000-100-562

Other New Jersey LEAs

NJDOE defines this as tuition expenditures for special-education services for district-resident students sent to an educational facility outside their district but within New Jersey.

2026–27: $103,783

11-000-100-566

In-state private placement

NJDOE's formal Chart of Accounts describes tuition paid to private schools for students with disabilities located within New Jersey.

2026–27: $8,621,444

11-000-100-567

Out-of-state placement

NJDOE's formal account covers out-of-state special-education tuition to private schools and other LEAs.

2026–27: $1,362,454

2026–27 tuition account breakout
Account	Plain-English description	Amount
`11-000-100-562`	Other New Jersey LEAs	$103,783
`11-000-100-566`	In-state private placement	$8,621,444
`11-000-100-567`	Out-of-state placement	$1,362,454
Total		$10,087,681

Earlier-year totals on the chart are already reconciled to the audited three-account grouping. Earlier-year account-by-account columns will be added only after each subaccount is directly reconciled from the corresponding audited source; they are not back-solved from the total.

Sources: Livingston FY2022–FY2025 ACFR General Fund Schedule C-1 via the NJDOE ACFR repository; Livingston 2026–27 Budget Book, pp. 3, 6, and 13; NJDOE 2026–27 Uniform Minimum Chart of Accounts, objects 560, 562, 566, and 567; and NJDOE levy-cap guidance. The 2% line is a campaign calculation and comparison benchmark, not an individual-account cap.