Brick Schools Hit With $2.5M State Aid Cut For 2023-24

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township School District is set to lose $2.5 million in state aid — a reduction of nearly 15 percent — under aid figures for the 2023-24 school year announced by the New Jersey Department of Education on Thursday.

The aid cut is among the top 10 largest, percentage-wise, dealt to any district that received at least $10 million in state aid for the 2022-23 school year, according to the state figures.

The Brick Township district received $17,174,293 in the 2022-23 school year, and is slated to receive $14,632,033 for 2023-24, a reduction of $2,542,260.

The aid cut is part of the ongoing cuts set out under S2, and comes as Gov. Phil Murphy touted a $1 billion increase in overall school funding in his 2024 budget address on Tuesday. Much of that funding has been directed at what Murphy said are underfunded school districts.

Brick has been one of more than 150 school districts that have been subjected to state aid cuts since 2018 under the law known as S2, which aimed to remove aid from districts considered to be "overfunded" under the School Funding Reform Act.

The cuts were to be spread over seven years; the final year of cuts is slated to be the 2024-25 school year.

Assemblymen Greg McGuckin of the 10th District criticized the cuts, saying, "Murphy touts his historic school funding, but it is costing 30 percent of New Jersey’s schools millions of dollars a year."

"Brick loses seven figures in state funding a year. It is not sustainable," he said.

"All children deserve a thorough and efficient education, but Murphy’s budget and funding formula picks winners and losers," McGuckin said. "Increased funding for schools shouldn’t come at the expense of other children’s education."

Note: This article has been updated to reflect correct figures for Brick Township's aid cut. Patch regrets the error.