Nutley, Belleville Schools May Get More State Aid (Here’s How Much)

BELLEVILLE-NUTLEY, NJ — The public school districts in Nutley and Belleville are both in line to get an increase in state aid under the latest budget proposal from Gov. Phil Murphy.

The governor’s office released its aid projections for K-12 schools for fiscal year 2025 this week. Nearly 200 New Jersey schools could see five-figure increases if the spending plan crosses the finish line intact. Read More: Biggest Boosts, Cuts To NJ Schools Under New Aid Plan (See The List)

Murphy also announced funding for expanded preschool access, free school meals and student-teacher stipend and recruitment efforts as part of his annual budget address earlier this week. See Related: 5 Big Takeaways From Murphy's Budget Address

Nutley schools would get $12,488,029 in state aid, which is up from this year’s $9,419,915 (a 32.57 percent boost). It would be earmarked as follows:

• Equalization Aid - $6,432,911
• Transportation Aid – $631,352
• Special Education Aid - $4,902,593
• Security Aid - $521,173

Belleville schools would get $66,585,432 in state aid, which is up from this year’s $54,384,062 (a 22.44 percent boost). It would be earmarked as follows:

• Equalization Aid - $57,979,973
• Transportation Aid – $625,449
• Special Education Aid - $5,723,423
• Security Aid - $2,256,587

Only two school districts in Essex County would lose state aid under the latest proposal: West Orange and the Essex County Vocational-Tech system.

Property taxes in New Jersey are generally made up of three parts: school, municipal and county.

State aid is an influential factor in a school district's share of property taxes. Many districts say that cuts – or even flat spending – forces them to raise taxes for local homeowners. Read More: Property Taxes In Belleville-Nutley (See Latest 5-Year Breakdown)

Here’s how Nutley's taxes broke down in 2023, according to the latest state data:

• School – 50.2%
• Municipal – 34.1%
• County – 15.7%

Here are the numbers for Belleville:

• School – 38.8%
• Municipal – 47.8%
• County – 13.5%

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