Heights School District Gets an Additional Increase in State Aid for 2011-2012

The total amount of state aid the Hasbrouck Heights school district will receive for 2011-2012 school year has gone from $649,140 to $883,213 as a result of additional funding which Governor Christie announced Tuesday.

According to the governor’s new funding plan, the Heights district will receive $243,073 on top of the when the governor gave his budget address announcing that all districts would receive more funding for the 2011-2012 school year.

The amount of state aid funding for the 2011-2012 school year is now at about double the amount the district received for 2010-2011 after the state had slashed state aid by more than half, down to $415,000.

Business administrator Dina Messery confirmed Tuesday that the district heard about the funding, calling it, “great news.” However at this point she did not have the specifics on how exactly the funding will be used.  

In April, with a $23,876,774 tax levy which means a homeowner in a residence appraised at the average home value of $436,000 will pay an additional $54 per year for the school portion of the tax bill.

The state aid money is part of an extra $850 million being pumped into New Jersey's public schools into the state's fiscal year 2012 Budget, Christie said in a statement. There will be a $250 million increase for all school districts, as well as an additional $450 million for the state's 31 poorest districts, known as Abbotts. Non-Abbotts will get an additional $150 million. 

Christie had cut the $450 million before the state Supreme Court ruled against the cuts earlier this year.

“This year, New Jersey increased state aid to school districts by $850 million over last year, restoring every dollar of the cuts we were forced to make last year and increasing aid by an additional $30 million. We are keeping faith with our commitment to New Jersey’s children and families, spending more money per pupil on New Jersey’s students than almost any other state in the country,” said Governor Christie in a statement Tuesday. “Now is the time to complement the dollars spent with real education reform to bring a focus on student learning, accountability and results.”