JEFFERSON, NJ — The Jefferson Township Council is expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution supporting a state Assembly bill that would restore school funding to municipalities that have lost tax revenue and development potential under New Jersey's Highlands and Pinelands preservation laws.
Assembly Bill 4869, the Fairness for School Districts in Development Restricted Areas Act, is sponsored by Assemblywomen Aura Dunn and Marisa Sweeney.
The council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Jefferson Township Municipal Building, 1033 Weldon Road, Lake Hopatcong.
Jefferson has a direct stake in the outcome. About 88% of the township sits within the Highlands Preservation Area, where strict anti-development rules have sharply limited new housing and commercial growth — and the tax revenue that comes with it.
The township argues that while roughly 70 percent of New Jersey residents benefit from Highlands Region water, the communities that protect it bear a disproportionate financial burden.
That burden hit hard this year. Jefferson's school budget absorbed a $2.9 million shortfall after the state slashed aid by 60 percent, driven by a 29 percent reduction in student allotments under the S2 school funding formula.
Assembly Bill 4869 would direct state school aid to qualifying districts — those that experienced a loss under S2 — located within development-restricted areas like the Highlands and Pinelands.
If approved, the council would direct the township clerk to forward the resolution to Gov. Mikie Sherrill, state Sen. Anthony Bucco, Assemblywomen Dunn and Sweeney, Senate President Nick Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.
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