The following email was sent by South Orange-Maplewood Supt. of Schools Jason Bing on October 28, 2025. The email follows on an announcement by Bing that the district would be looking at potential changes to its Intentional Integration Initiative for the 2026-27 school year, including eliminating the middle schools from the plan and increasing the socioeconomic status variance used for placing students. Proposed changes to the “Triple I” have also been a point of contention in the current Board of Education election.
Dear South Orange & Maplewood School District community,
We are facing a significant budget challenge this year. This fiscal uncertainty is not unique to SOMSD, as evidenced by the devastation occurring in hundreds of districts across New Jersey, including Montclair, West Orange, and East Orange. Our duty now is to explore all major cost drivers within our budget to ensure the long-term sustainability of our schools. Current drivers, such as salaries, benefits, transportation, energy, special services, aging facilities et al., combined with a 2% tax levy cap and an inadequate state aid formula, continue to be a struggle.
Our 100% Commitment to Integration Remains
We want to emphatically reaffirm that our decades-long commitment to integration is unwavering.This remains both an ethical, legal and moral imperative for SOMSD — and a core priority.
The SOMSD Intentional Integration Initiative is not being eliminated. Any changes we make to our current model of integration with our expert consultants, the Alves Group, will be to strengthen its operational and financial sustainability. This work can only be done with community engagement and feedback. Please look for opportunities to contribute via Community Conversations, Town Halls, and the district’s strategic planning process.
The Budget Challenge is Multifaceted
Recent social media discussions have pointed to specific projects, such as the Intentional Integration Initiative, as the sole or primary cause of our fiscal issues. This is incorrect. The crisis is an amalgamation of various expenses across the district. The revision, reduction, or elimination of any single expense driver will not “solve” the budget crisis. Instead, a comprehensive, mission-driven analysis that scrutinizes all relevant aspects of the budget is required. Make no mistake, we will likely be forced to make some difficult decisions in this budget cycle and beyond, and we will turn to the insight of our leaders, educators and community members to choose the best path forward.
Our immediate goal is to work diligently to maintain student-facing programs that provide academic, social and emotional support as we move toward the 2026–27 school year. Most importantly, we want to avoid the reductions in force that we are seeing in neighboring districts.
Our Comprehensive Approach to Solutions
We are examining all expenses and seeking optimization across the board. This involves:
- Operational Efficiency: Improving energy use, transitioning to paperless processes, and increasing data-driven operations.
- Fiscal Oversight: Renegotiating vendor contracts and conducting a thorough audit of personnel.
- Infrastructure: Focusing on preventative maintenance.
- Transportation: Optimizing route efficiency, examining PreK busing, exploring bus hub models, and purchasing a small fleet of buses.
- Building Our Reserves: Our reserves have been depleted over the years and we must save to build this back up, 2% annually as required by the Essex County Superintendent’s Office.
This process involves difficult but necessary conversations. We are committed to being as transparent and collaborative as possible. We will continue our open dialogue through community forums, board meetings, and memos in addition to leveraging the expertise of our community Budget Advisory Committee.
Though challenging, this process provides an opportunity to reframe our difficulties into chances for growth, learning, and long-term improvement for SOMSD.
In partnership,
Jason Bing
Superintendent of Schools
