Clark, Garwood To Get Less School Aid Than Expected

CLARK/GARWOOD, NJ — Clark and Garwood are among 400 school districts who will get less state aid than they expected when Gov. Phil Murphy first offered his school funding plan in February.

Murphy released revised state aid figures, saying they will overall remain steady from fiscal year 2020 despite the "historic financial challenges New Jersey is facing due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."

The Clark Township School District will see a 9.5 percent cut in state aid since Murphy's February proposal, but the district's funding is still 5.1 percent higher than last year's amount.

The Garwood Borough School District will see a 3.6 percent cut in state aid since Murphy's February proposal, but the district's funding is still 1.8 percent higher than last year's amount.

In Union County, Linden saw the biggest cut while Winfield didn't see any change in funding.

Here are all of the Union County school districts that got cuts – or didn't – since Murphy's February proposal:

• Linden City, -10.8%
• Summit City, -9.9%
• Westfield Town, Union -9.9%
• New Providence Boro, -9.7%
• Clark Twp, Union -9.5%
• Scotch Plains-Fanwood Reg, -9.5%
• Berkeley Heights Twp, -8.9%
• Mountainside Boro, -8.8%
• Union County Vocational, -8.1%
• Plainfield City, -7.9%
• Springfield Twp, -7.8%
• Cranford Twp, -7.2%
• Roselle Park Boro, -7.0%
• Rahway City, -6.7%
• Roselle Boro, -6.4%
• Hillside Twp, -5.6%
• Elizabeth City, -4.0%
• Garwood Boro, -3.6%
• Kenilworth Boro, -1.6%
• Union Twp, -0.8%
• Winfield Twp, 0.0%

Indeed, more than 190 school districts will see cuts from last year's funding, and they may need tax increases to make up the differences. Read more: These 190-Plus Districts May Face Tax Hike: NJ School Aid Figures

In his revised budget proposal, Murphy announced that funding for school districts will keep the state on track to fully fund public schools. Additionally, the revised budget proposal includes almost $68 million in new funds over FY2020 for preschools in New Jersey.

Murphy also announced $100 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) funding to ensure schools can reopen safely.

"Supporting our public schools has been one of the bedrock priorities of my administration, and the COVID-19 pandemic has not changed our commitment to our students, educators, and staff," said Murphy.

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