Brick Schools Receive $7.5M In Stabilization Aid, Grant From NJ

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township School District will receive just under $7.5 million in additional aid from the state Department of Education, officials formally announced Thursday.

"This aid will help us address student, staff, and infrastructure needs of the district," Superintendent Thomas G. Farrell said.

The district will receive $6,527,350 in stabilization aid, and an additional $967,754 through the Education Rescue Grant program, a total of $7,495,004.

The stabilization aid helps school districts through times of fiscal distress. The Brick Township Schools have lost almost $15 million in state funding over the previous four years and are slated to lose $5.2 million in the 2022-2023 school year due to S2.

"This funding allows us to invest in a mix of capital expenditures, such as much-needed HVAC ventilation improvements in our buildings, as well as staffing, technology, and transportation needs," Farrell said.

"The stabilization aid and an Education Rescue Grant we will receive will help support increased
capital expenditures in our budget and pull forward necessary infrastructure improvements to our
buildings such as HVAC/ventilation systems," business administrator Jim Edwards said.

"The Board of Education, administration, staff, parents and community members have collectively advocated for alternative funding sources to offset budget shortfalls due to S2," said Stephanie Wohlrab, president of the school board. "This is an example of cooperative community
efforts yielding successful results. I want to thank everyone for their continued participation and
dedication to the children and taxpayers of Brick, especially Dr. Farrell and Mayor Ducey, for their
tireless efforts communicating with Trenton."

"I am happy to see our schools get this additional state funding, especially with everything our children have gone through in the last year," Brick Township Mayor John G. Ducey said. "It is a tremendous accomplishment to our entire community who have been advocating for additional school funding."

"This much-needed aid will help our district mitigate past budget deficiencies and help us re-establish purposeful (albeit efficient) educational programming for our students," Farrell said.

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