Property tax bills in Cranford are issued quarterly and include three components: school, municipal, and county taxes. While any of these components can change, the school district can only speak to the school tax portion.

The most recent tax bills, covering the third quarter of 2025, reflect an increase in school taxes for the following reasons:

1. The community approved the January 2024 bond referendum, which provided funding for district-wide improvements, including kindergarten classroom additions at four schools. Estimated cost $267/year for the average assessed home of $188,446.

2. The Board of Education approved the use of the state’s new Tax Levy Incentive Aid program to use local and state funds for staffing, operational costs, and related services for the district’s full-day kindergarten program. Estimated cost of $140/year for the average assessed home of $188,446.

3. The district’s 2025-2026 operating budget increased to maintain and enhance the district’s ongoing programs and services. Estimated cost of $250/year for the average assessed home of $188,446.

Yes, the district has made significant efforts to inform residents about the potential tax impacts of both the bond referendum and the Tax Levy Incentive Aid program. This included public presentations, website updates, and postcard mailings to the entire community. The most recent mailing specifically showed the breakdown of the kindergarten funding plan.

Additionally, because of the Board’s approval of the Tax Levy Incentive Aid program, the district will no longer need to hold a budget vote this November to secure funding for full-day kindergarten. This move:

• Saved the district tens of thousands of dollars in election costs.

• Unlocked approximately $63,000 in state aid to launch tuition-free, full-day kindergarten in 2026-2027.

Property taxes are billed in four installments per year. The first and second quarter bill amounts are different from the third and fourth quarter bill amounts:

• Quarter 1 and 2 amounts are estimates based on half of the prior year’s taxes, because budgets are not usually finalized until May.

• Quarter 3 and 4 amounts make up the difference between the estimated and the actual final annual taxes.   

The bond payments will be spread over the next 25 years in Cranford, transferring to new homeowners as they move to our community. 

The funds raised through the Tax Levy Incentive Aid program are a permanent tax increase to fund ongoing kindergarten operations.

Please contact the Cranford Tax Assessor’s Office at (908) 709-7211 for questions about how your property taxes are calculated. Questions specifically about the school portion of the tax bill can be directed to vote@cranfordschools.org. 

The Cranford community supported a January 2024 bond referendum that provided funding for district-wide improvements, including kindergarten classroom additions at Brookside Place School, Bloomingdale Avenue School, Walnut Avenue School, and Hillside Avenue School. After that vote, the district planned to hold a budget vote in November 2025 to fund operating costs, including staffing, for tuition-free, full-day kindergarten. Bond funding can't be used for staffing and other operational costs, creating the need for this second vote.

This year, the state of New Jersey announced a new Tax Levy Incentive Aid program for school districts considered below adequacy, as defined by the NJDOE, for state funding purposes. The program was designed to allow districts to leverage an increase in their general fund tax levy to secure additional state aid. 

After careful consideration, the Cranford Board of Education unanimously approved a plan to participate in New Jersey’s new Tax Levy Incentive Aid program on Monday, April 28. Local and state funds secured through this program will be used to fund staffing, operational costs and related services for the district’s full-day kindergarten.   

The board’s action means that the district will no longer need to hold a budget vote that was planned for November to secure funds for full-day kindergarten. Instead, the district will benefit from about $63,000 in state aid, as well as $1.3 million in local funds, to ensure the district starts tuition-free, full-day kindergarten by the 2026-27 school year at its four elementary schools. Additionally, not holding the budget vote in November will save the district tens of thousands of dollars in election-related costs.

The Tax Levy Incentive Aid program gives Cranford Public Schools a fiscally responsible way to fund kindergarten using local and state tax dollars, allowing the district to raise the 2025-26 general tax levy by $1,257,295. This qualifies the district for $62,865 in state aid that would not have been available if the district had held a November budget vote. Additionally, not holding the budget vote in November will save the district tens of thousands of dollars in election-related costs.

The Tax Levy Incentive Aid program provides Cranford with an alternate way to fund full-day kindergarten for all students at a reduced cost. Originally, the district was estimating a yearly impact of $535 total for the average assessed home in Cranford ($186,000) for the bond referendum and budget vote combined. This new program, as well as savings realized during the bond sale process, will reduce that to $406.81, aligning with the district’s goal to be fiscally responsible for Cranford taxpayers. Of the $406.81, the Tax Levy Incentive Aid program accounts for a $139.73 per year increase for the average assessed home. 

The Tax Levy Incentive Aid program will allow the district to receive $62,865 in state aid.  

Yes. Approximately 300 schools are eligible to apply throughout the state. 

The New Jersey Department of Education established the Tax Levy Incentive Aid program in early 2025. Once the district became aware of the program, it immediately considered it an alternate option to the November budget vote, since it comes with the added benefit of state aid to offset local costs, as well as eliminating the election-related costs needed to hold the November budget vote, saving the district tens of thousands of dollars. 

The Tax Levy Incentive Aid program is the only way to have the state contribute funds for the operational costs of full-day kindergarten. The state will contribute $62,865. Additionally, not holding the budget vote in November will save the district tens of thousands of dollars in election-related costs.

Please see the chart above that describes how the owner of an average assessed home in Cranford ($186,000) will see cost savings. 

The Tax Levy Incentive Aid program is designed to support school districts in meeting the state's thorough and efficient education standards. This program allows districts to leverage an increase in their local general fund tax levy to secure additional state aid. 

Eligibility: 

• Available exclusively to school districts (county vocational schools are not eligible). 

• Districts must be spending below adequacy, as defined by the NJDOE, and have a general fund tax levy below the local fair share. 

• Districts must have exhausted all eligible adjustments and banked cap.