No Emergency Aid For Nutley Schools From Murphy Administration

NUTLEY, NJ — The Nutley school district recently asked for $1.6 million in “emergency aid” from the state but came up empty-handed, officials reported.

Last week, state officials announced that 13 public school districts will get a combined $15 million in midyear emergency aid for the 2019-2020 school year.

Nutley was among the dozens of districts seeking emergency funding. Officials asked for $1.6 million, but got nothing, according to data provided by the state.

Three other Essex County municipalities requested emergency aid:

• Newark – requested $36,749,168, received $3,978,154
• Orange – requested $3,605,443, received none
• East Orange – requested $3,160,000, received $1,031,912

The awards come as many districts prepare for more – or less – state aid as part of a controversial plan to reallocate funds to schools across New Jersey.

State aid weighs heavily in many school districts’ decisions on raising local property taxes. Many experts say that cuts in aid – or even flat spending – can cause districts to raise local taxes.

• See related article: New Plan To Fix NJ School Aid (Raise Property Taxes Even More)
• See related article: Renewed Push On Plan To Eliminate 275 NJ School Districts

Under the 2019-2020 plan, about 197 school districts experienced decreases in state aid. However, Nutley saw a 5.26 percent increase ($399,990) to $7,999,442.

• See related article: More State Aid Under Murphy's Budget For Belleville, Nutley Schools

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