Schools
Hillsborough Schools Will Once Again Get Less State Aid For 2025-26
On Thursday, the state Department of Education released the 2025-26 state funding figures and once again Hillsborough is losing out.
HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Year after year, Hillsborough Township Schools lose more and more state aid. And this year is no different, with a loss of more than half a million dollars.
Hillsborough's school district is expected to get $535,930 less than last year in school aid from New Jersey as part of the latest state budget proposal.
For the fiscal year 2025, Hillsborough Township schools received $17,914,024; next year, the district is slated to receive $17,378,094. This is a 2.99 percent decrease.
Find out what's happening in Hillsboroughfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Superintendent Michael Volpe, who has been an advocate for the district and its efforts to restore state funding, did want to comment on the loss of aid.
"I have no comment at this time," said Volpe.
Find out what's happening in Hillsboroughfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Since the S2 state school funding formula began the Hillsborough School District has lost a more than $7 million since the 2018-19 school year.
Last year the district was projected to have a cut of $2.7 million in state aid for the 2025 fiscal year. However, following recent legislation from the state the Board of Education was provided a one-time return of 45 percent of this year's $2.7 million state aid cut, $1.2 million.
Volpe did encourage residents to speak up for the school district at a meeting in January held by the New Jersey Department of Education.
The N.J. Legislature is considering changes to the School Funding Reform Act and held a local meeting on Jan. 8 when educators and members of the public were able to comment on the school funding law.
Gov. Phil Murphy's 2025-26 proposed budget is a record $58.1 billion that includes $12.1 billion for school funding, part of what he said is his administration's "ongoing and unrelenting commitment to building a New Jersey that is stronger, fairer, and more prepared for the future."
On Thursday, the state Department of Education released the 2025-26 state funding figures, showing how that $12.1 billion will support the state's K-12 schools. There are 392 districts slated to receive increased funding, 175 seeing funding cuts and seven districts whose aid amount is the same as 2024-25. Read More: See Which NJ Schools Will Get More State Aid For 2025-26
Hillsborough Township is not the only school district to lose funding in Somerset County. Eight other districts lost funding this coming year out of the 18 districts in the county.
See below for a district-by-district breakdown of state school funding for Somerset County for the fiscal year 2026:
| District | FY26 K–12 Aid | FY25–FY26 K–12 Aid Difference | Aid Percent Difference |
| Bedminster Twp | $1,204,023 | -$37,238 | -3% |
| Bernards Twp | $8,015,127 | -$247,891 | -3% |
| Bound Brook Boro | $37,049,587 | $2,095,174 | 5.99% |
| Branchburg Twp | $3,965,479 | $224,461 | 6% |
| Bridgewater-Raritan Reg | $15,062,043 | $349,130 | 2.37% |
| Franklin Twp | $20,485,587 | -$633,575 | -3% |
| Green Brook Twp | $1,897,532 | -$45,133 | -2.32% |
| Hillsborough Twp | $17,378,094 | -$535,930 | -2.99% |
| Manville Boro | $27,344,266 | $451,149 | 1.68% |
| Montgomery Twp | $8,276,701 | -$255,980 | -3% |
| North Plainfield Boro | $71,569,148 | $3,246,280 | 4.75% |
| Somerset Co Vocational | $1,428,562 | 0 | 0% |
| Somerset Hills Regional | $2,589,027 | $146,549 | 6% |
| Somerville Boro | $9,742,574 | -$301,317 | -3% |
| South Bound Brook | $6,994,368 | $395,907 | 6% |
| Warren Twp | $3,332,913 | $188,656 | 6% |
| Watchung Boro | $1,286,213 | $-39,780 | -3% |
| Watchung Hills Regional | $2,708,537 | $135,256 | 5.26% |
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