Hours before Princeton Town Council’s 
April 27 vote on Princeton Public Library’s 
annual budget, the municipality and the 
library announced they had reached an 
agreement to make up a $149,000 budget 
shortfall that had led to a public, weekslong disagreement. 

In January, the library announced a 
reduction in hours, closing at 8:00 p.m. 
instead of 9 p.m. on the weekdays and 5:00 
p.m. instead of 6 p.m. on weekends. The 
reduction, in addition to cuts in online 
subscription media access, was largely 
attributed to a 36.5% increase in health 
insurance costs for staff, alongside rising 
building utility costs.

However, even after the reduction, the 
library was still short $149,000, a sum 
the municipality had been refusing to 
cover, proposing instead that the library 
eliminate parking subsidies for patrons 
to make up the shortfall. Ultimately, 
the municipality agreed to increase its 
contribution by $75,000, partially offset 
by a restructuring of the library’s employee 
parking permits, and the library agreed 
to cover the remaining $74,000 through 
increased fundraising efforts.

In 2026, the town spent 4.98 million 
dollars on the library. Of that, 3.8 million 
dollars is mandated by the state, while 1.1 
million is a voluntary contribution from 
the municipality’s operating budget, a 
number that Princeton Mayor Mark Freda 
said might decrease in the future.

“We fund that library really, really well,” 
said Freda. “That’s a lot of money, and [it] 
has an impact on every property that’s 
paying taxes, and the taxes are high in this 
town, as they are. I think in the long term, 
the library is gonna have to try to figure 
out ways to find that money elsewhere, 
and not assume the town’s going to be able 
to keep giving them more than what we’re 
required to give.”

Though the library has a 17.8 million 
dollar endowment, much of it is restricted 
and cannot be used to fill any potential 
budget shortfalls, primarily because of 
legislation.

“The Friends and Foundation tracks 
donor intent and distributes funds based 
on the organization’s authorized investment 
guidelines and distribution policy in 
accordance with the Uniform Prudent 
Management of Institutional Funds Act of 
2006,” wrote the library’s Board of Trustees 
in a statement to the Tower. “This means 
that because of donor rules and legal 
guidelines, the money can’t just be used 
freely to fill a sudden budget gap.”

Before the municipality and the library 
reached an agreement, Princeton resident 
and PHS parent Raz Godelnik emailed both 
extensively, arguing that the town must 
prioritize library funding. 

“It’s a question of priorities; what are 
the priorities of [the municipality]? If the 
library, which is really sort of the most 
democratic institution, one that is serving 
everyone … is not a priority, if you can’t find 
[$150,000] to compensate for the deficit, 
I would ask whether the municipality 
is making the right decisions about our 
priorities,” said Godelnik.

However, Freda argued that the town 
cannot meet the funding needs of any one 
institution without limitations, particularly 
with already high property taxes making 
Princeton increasingly unaffordable for 
many. 
“We could have the greatest services 
in the world, but if people can’t afford to 
live here, what good are those services?” 
said Freda. “If I tell you it’s going to cost 
you $1,000 more per year than you can 
afford to live here and [as a result] you 
got to go [leave], it’s like, what good did I 
just do you?” 

Despite the relatively small shortfall, 
the issue generated a significant amount 
of controversy in Princeton, reaching the 
front page of the Town Topics and leading 
to significant community input. According 
to Freda, much of it was more emotional 
than practical.

“Some people decided, ‘Let’s tell 
everybody that loves the library they must 
write emails and call the elected officials 
and say, ‘Give the library whatever they 
want.’’” said Freda. “In spite of all that 
emotional response, … there was a small 
group [from both the municipality and the 
library that] continued to say, ‘Let’s keep 
talking, because the budget is not going 
to be finalized until April 27 and right up 
until that meeting, we [can] ... see if we 
[can] figure something out.’”


Photo: Katherine Chen

Princeton Public Library is the most visited municipal public library in New Jersey.

Library and Town Council reach  budget compromise to end  weeks-long standoff

In a step towards a more sustainable future,  Princeton Public Schools recently announced their purchase of two electric school buses and an electric bus charger.

The district hopes to receive the two 54-passenger Blue Bird electric school buses by the end of August and have them running by the start of the 2025–2026 school year. 

The cost of the buses without state aid is $1,013,069.48. However, a roughly $700,000 NJ Department of Environmental Protection grant and around $40,000 in federal aid reduces the out-of-pocket cost for the district to $300,000, which is comparable to the price of two standard gasoline buses.

“It is our responsibility as elected officials to ensure that the vehicles carrying our children to school do not adversely affect their health outcomes as they grow. That’s why my administration has dedicated $30 million to date to ensuring that those vehicles are powered by clean energy,” said New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy during a press conference announcing the grant.

The grant was designed to replace the district’s few remaining diesel buses, which will be decommissioned, with a safer and more environmentally friendly option. The remaining buses will have standard gasoline powered engines. 12 other districts in New Jersey with diesel buses received similar grants. 

“Not having diesel fumes will make the air quality a little safer for the community [and] a lot safer for the kids that ride on those two buses,” said Jenny Ludmer,  a program manager at Sustainable Princeton who organized much of the purchase.

An average gas-powered vehicle emits around 12,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year, compared to around 1,500 for electric vehicles. The school also purchased a $212,000 bi-directional electric charger for the buses, allowing the district to store  any excess energy until needed. In NJ, the vast majority of electricity is either from nuclear power or natural gas.

Though the electric buses have a limited range, Ludmer assures that they will not cause any problems and are suited for the district’s transportation needs.

“[Its range] is around a hundred miles, so it’s less than what most vehicles have,” said Ludmer. “But [while] the district does have some long distance routes, these buses would not get used for that situation — they would only be used locally — so they’re not gonna have a problem.”

In the future, Ludmer hopes that the district can acquire an all-electric fleet of busses. Princeton University recently finished converting its campus-wide Tiger Transit system into an all-electric fleet, as part of its net-zero carbon emissions initiative.

“This is a proof of concept that the electric buses are going to work well, be easy to maintain, and be quieter — and have a more enjoyable ride that way. I think with proof of concept and with additional funding, the district can continue to add more buses to their fleet that are electric,” said Ludmer.

However, Adam Bierman, a current member of the Board of Education, is skeptical that the district will be able to purchase a complete fleet of electric busses in the near future.

“The process right now is very volatile.You have a federal administration that is not pro-electric. Then we might even have a Republican governor — I’m saying this as a nonpartisan — that might want to do some DOGE-type cuts in New Jersey. The funding is really up in the air,” said Bierman.

PHS students, for their part, are excited about the potential for an all-electric fleet in the future. 

“[The current seats] are often ripped and uncomfortable — and they can’t clean them either,” said Griffin Short 27, who rides a regular bus to school. “The engine noise, you can just hear so much. It’s really distracting and especially early in the morning, it [makes] it hard to focus. Then, obviously it’s much better for the environment using an electric vehicle  than gas-powered.” 


Photo: Charley Hu


The current fleet of Princeton Public Schools’ busses sit in a parking lot behind the PPS administrative office. 

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