State Rejects Freehold Regional's $3.78M Emergency Aid Request

FREEHOLD, NJ — The state Department of Education rejected the request by the Freehold Regional High School District for $3.78 million in emergency school funding, one of several districts whose funding requests were denied.

The education department issued its determinations on the emergency aid late Friday.

The Freehold Regional district is among more than 100 statewide that have seen reductions in state school funding under S2, the law pushed by state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and signed in July 2018 by Gov. Phil Murphy.

S2 mandates reductions in so-called adjustment aid. Sweeney has contended districts receiving the aid are receiving money they are not entitled to receive and that their taxpayers are not paying their fair share of property taxes to support their schools.

Freehold Regional Superintendent Charles Sampson has said the overall $30 million cut — which will have a cumulative impact of $120 million over the seven years — "puts all programs at risk."

"The cut is not sustainable," Sampson said.

Part of the reason Sweeney has cited for removing that funding is to direct it to districts that have been chronically underfunded. Among those districts, ironically, is the Freehold Borough Schools.

But districts whose aid is being cut have questioned how state officials are determining the local fair share of property taxes. That local fair share is determined through a formula that state officials refuse to share. The formula determines the distribution of $6.5 billion in state funds, approximately 17 percent of the state's budget. Read more: Toms River, Brick Seek 'Secret' Math Equation In School Aid Fight

Sampson has been vocal in his criticism of S2 and the formula. In a recent tweet he said: "Formula deeply flawed. Here's what we do know: under S2 it has been disproportionately increased for certain communities like those in #theregional. Why wouldn't folks be able to see how billions are divided?"

In a recent letter seeking support from businesses in the regional district, which encompasses Colts Neck, Freehold, Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro high schools, Sampson expressed his furstrations with S2 and its impacts, which included the $3.78 million cut.

"The Freehold Regional is an exemplary district. Our students have outstanding opportunities to explore their passions whether through participation in one of our specialized magnet programs, career and technical education pathways or through various clubs and sports teams. As a regionalized system, our economy of scale allows us to provide a superior education for our students while spending approximately $3,500 per pupil less than similar districts. In fact, our per-pupil costs are below most of the K8 systems in our area despite running hundreds of clubs and athletic teams. The belief that this·district has somehow lived 'high on the hog' for years as stated by supporters of S2 is a dangerous misrepresentation."

"This year, the Freehold Regional was reduced $3.8 million in state aid, next year we will lose between $6 and $7 million with subsequent reductions for the next four years thereafter continuing on until we lose approximately $30 million in funding," Sampson said. "Our cumulative loss in state aid will reach $120 million by the end of this phase in."

"Even with raising taxes we will never be able to close that gap. Our class sizes are already at 30 students for core courses. That number will have to rise to accommodate cuts. Critical infrastructure work will be delayed, our extracurricular structure will change, transportation for students will .also be affected," he wrote.

The cuts "will change the face of this district."

Sampson's letter urges business owners to speak up for the district because "you understand how vital a great school system is to the local area."

"With property taxes poised to increase while services decrease as a result of the funding cuts, this region of Monmouth County will no longer hold the same appeal to homebuyers," Sampson said. "Property values will decline as this distinguished district becomes a shell of its former self."

A provision of S2 requires districts that are below adequacy to raise the property tax levy to the cap maximum of 2 percent per year.

"The irony of the situation is that the financial burden S2 is imposing on our district is tearing apart the foundation of this regional system," Sampson said, highlighting the fact that the district is a regional entity — which Sweeney has been pushing for under his Path to Progress initiative. Several of the districts taking the biggest financial hits are regional districts.

"As the funding impact of S2 plays out differently in each. community and as individual towns begin to seek isolated ways to support their specific schools within our system, the efficiency found within our regionalized system will begin to erode," Sampson said in his appeal to business owners. "As we face tens of millions in cuts ahead of us, the attractiveness of our community for business owners will diminish as our schools and students s11ffer. I believe legislators never considered that these misguided funding cuts could destroy a regionalized system."

"This severely flawed funding formula ... must be reexamined and the phase-in should be delayed until the full scope of impact is understood," Sampson said.

The Freehold Regional district is part of a lawsuit that seeks to force the state to reveal the formula used to calculate local fair share. That lawsuit is in the appellate courts.

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