DUI Lawyers in Egg Harbor, NJ

Austin Fisher smacked a home run and knocked in four runs as part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate for Egg Harbor as it staved off Millville to earn a 9-7 victory in Millville.

Complete Box Score »

Egg Harbor trailed 2-0 after the first inning before plating four runs in the top of the second and three runs in the third to reach a high-water mark of 7-2 after two and a half innings.

Millville answered back with a four-run rally to draw within a run in the bottom of the third but was unable to reclaim the lead over the course of the game.

Dylan Salsbery chipped in both ways for Egg Harbor, stealing two bases, knocking in a run and coming around to score once while going 1-for-3 as a hitter and ceding no earned runs (one unearned) over 3 1/3 innings on the mound. Jacob Cagna drew a walk and scored two runs in a 1-for-2 effort for Egg Harbor (8-8).

Pat Tull stole a base, scored a run and notched two RBI while going 1-for-4 for Millville (7-9).

Jack McKenna can be reached at hssports@njadvancemedia.com

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The Little Egg Harbor Board of Education approved a nearly 33% school tax increase for homeowners this week during a meeting that included very little pushback from the public.

The board voted 5-2 in favor of the budget that included the large increase to help solve the Ocean County district’s financial problems.

Everyone who spoke in support of passing the budget acknowledged it would be a financial burden on homeowners. However, members of the school board and other speakers at Tuesday’s meeting said their biggest concern was increasing class sizes if the district didn’t raise taxes.

Little Egg Harbor School Board Vice President Abby Martin — who voted in favor of the tax increase — blamed the state school funding formula for Little Egg Harbor’s budget crisis.

“I can’t help but think this is all political and it drives me crazy,” Martin said.

The nearly 33% tax increase will mean a yearly school tax hike of $615 on an average house valued at $308,000.

The Little Egg Harbor School District serves a little over 1,700 students, nearly 50% of whom receive free or reduced lunch. Unlike many districts experiencing a budget crunch around the state, enrollment numbers are not down in Little Egg Harbor.

The district says its funding decreased by over $1.5 million between the 2022 and 2024 school years.

Some of the decrease was due to the end of federal COVID relief funds, which previously gave the school district a $1 million boost, Robert Green, the district’s business administrator, said at a board meeting in early April.

MORE: See how much your N.J. school district is slated to receive in state aid

Under Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed state budget, Little Egg Harbor is expected to receive $7.7 million in state education funding for the upcoming school year. That is a 6% increase, or about $436,000 more than last year, according to state Department of Education data.

Little Egg Harbor and 280 other school districts are eligible for a state Tax Levy Incentive Aid program this year. Districts that apply for the program and are approved can impose larger-than-usual tax increases on homeowners.

To incentivize districts to apply for the extra aid, the state will pay the districts 5% of the amount they want to raise in taxes.

In Little Egg Harbor’s case, district officials asked the state to allow them to raise more than $3 million more from local taxpayers. The state will chip in $151,585, or 5% of the total Little Egg Harbor plans to increase its tax levy.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Little Egg Harbor Superintendent Lisa Antunes announced the state had approved the district’s application for the extra aid.

“By doing so, they are affirming that we need this money to provide a thorough and efficient education to the students of Little Egg Harbor School District,” she said.

Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, R-Ocean, criticized both Little Egg Harbor’s tax hike and the state program that provided the incentive for the tax increase.

“A 33% increase on families already struggling with the cost of living is not a solution — it’s a betrayal,” Sauickie said in a statement Thursday.

School board member Christine Snyder said Little Egg Harbor was limited in how it could raise more money for schools because it had no property or school buildings to sell.

“We don’t have land. We don’t have buildings we can close. We’re using every piece of space that we have,” Snyder said at the meeting.

Seven members of the public shared their thoughts about the budget during the public comment period. Three of the speakers asked questions. The remaining four speakers were split on whether the budget should be approved.

One parent, who is also a district employee, expressed concern that raising class sizes would jeopardize the quality of education in the district. She said her school tax increase would be about $35 a month for her house.

“I’m willing to give up a few extra coffee runs a month to cover that $35 in order to keep the jobs that our schools so desperately need, so that our students can get the education they deserve,” the parent said.

The district’s budget presentation included a class size chart for both a 33% tax increase and a 25% increase. With a 25% tax increase, some second grade classrooms would grow to 50 students, the district said.

With the larger school tax increase, class sizes for second graders were expected to be 33 students, the district said.

Another long-time taxpayer at the meeting said he and fellow residents are “tired of being relied on as the cash cows for the board of educations in the township.”

Another speaker who said her children have attended Little Egg Harbor schools since 2019 said, “Children are not a cost benefit analysis. They are an investment.”

“You’ll notice I haven’t said a word about test scores or report cards,” she said. “Our children are worth more than the grades they produce.”

The Little Egg Harbor Board of Education approved its 2025-26 budget at its April 29 meeting. As expected, it raised its public tax levy by 32.6%.

Superintendent of Schools Lisa Antunes and Business Administrator Robert Green gave an explanation of the budget during the public hearing, repeating much that had been said during a series of special meetings in March and April.

“We are in unprecedented times in the state of New Jersey for school budgets,” said Antunes. “We are not the only district feeling it; districts across the state are feeling it.”

She went on, as had been done before, to show how the LEHSD compares with other pre-K to sixth grade districts in the state. The district is below the state average for administrative costs – a good thing – and above the state average in classroom spending numbers that go directly to the classroom – another positive thing.

So why the need for a 32.6% tax hike?

Green took the microphone and blamed the district’s budget crisis on factors such as cuts in state aid, “local fair share” and “adequacy budgets.”

The state has made huge cuts in aid for many school districts, especially in Ocean County and South Jersey, for the past few years, and the LEHSD was no exception, losing $1.5 million. The state wants many districts to increase their local fair share of taxes to replace the lost aid.

“The state calculates this amount based on the district’s capacity to raise funds, which is determined by its property values and the income of its residents,” said Green.

As for adequacy budgets, Green said an adequacy budget is “needed for a thorough and efficient education. … For every school district the state calculates what would be the necessary funding level to provide a through and efficient education for every pupil in that district.”

Put the two together and, as Green explained, “the state then calculates the local fair share or what it believes the local taxing authority would be able to raise for the school budget.”

Green went on to say the state believes the LEHSD’s adequacy budget to be just over $30 million, and it calculates the district’s local fair share to be almost $25 million. Right now, he continued, the taxpayers of LEH contribute $14.6 million toward the district’s budget, meaning the LEHSD is about $10 million below funding the district adequately.

Toss in some usual suspects in a time of inflation, such as sharply increasing costs for medical benefits, energy and transportation, and it’s easy to see how school districts are struggling.

Antunes said the district’s main challenge is to minimally maintain current staff, which ultimately affects its ability to provide a thorough and efficient education to its students.

“There is nothing frivolous in this budget,” she said. “In fact, there’s essentially nothing new or innovative at all.

“Everyone wants what’s best for our students. … The state is simply not going to fund local schools any longer. This is why this board must act now in the best interest of our students.”

Antunes said even with the huge tax increase, the district will still have to reduce support staff, and currently empty positions will not be back-filled.

The 32.6% tax hike means the owner of a $208,000 home – the township’s average – will have to pay $416 more in elementary school taxes than last year. The owner of a house assessed at $308,000 will see a $615 bump while the owner of a $408,000 home will have to come up with an extra $815.

The board voted 5-2 to approve the budget, with Board President Laura Erber and Greg Leszega opposing.

— Rick Mellerup

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Citing "international disruptions and supply chain challenges," spooky decoration and costume emporium Spirit Halloween announced it is canceling its annual grand opening event, which typically draws a large crowd to the Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, store in the heat of summer.

A statement on the decision was posted on Spirit Halloween's social accounts and SpiritHalloween.com.

While Spirit didn't use the words "tariff" or "tariffs" in the statement, international trade has been disrupted in 2025 after President Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs on goods from almost every foreign country, a move that has caused wild disruptions in the stock market and caused many companies to reassess how they do business.

Some Halloween lovers traveled from thousands of miles away for Spirit's 2024 season kickoff event and Chopper 3 showed a line snaking around the store outside.

Luckily for Halloween lovers, they plan to bring the event back in 2026.

Spirit says over 1,500 Halloween stores are on track to open in mid-August despite the grand opening event being off.

"The engines are on, and we're full speed ahead," Spirit said.

Known for its pop-up stores — the company owns no permanent physical storefronts, according to CBS MoneyWatch — Spirit has been praised for the yearly logistical feat in which it opens hundreds of temporary brick-and-mortar locations months ahead of Halloween, staffs and stocks them, and then disappears once the holiday is over.

Spirit Halloween also experimented with "Spirit Christmas" stores in 2024, opening 10 locations across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Joe Brandt

Joe Brandt has been a digital content producer for CBS News Philadelphia since 2022. He is a Temple University graduate and was born and raised in Pitman, NJ.

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Scott Faytok | NJ Advance Media

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Anthony Cataldo (left) and Matt Gryskiewicz (44) of Eastern celebrate after a walk-off single from Gryskiewicz to win 4-3 during the NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 4 baseball quarterfinal between Eastern and Egg Harbor at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, NJ on 5/29/25.Get Photo

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