Jefferson Schools Lost $2.9M After State Aid Cut, Council To Take Action Wednesday

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 4860, 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 percent 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 4860 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.

Legislation that could offer relief to districts like Jefferson has been introduced in Trenton. State Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris, Passaic) and Sen. Latham Tiver (R-Atlantic, Burlington) are sponsoring the "Fairness for School Districts in Development Restricted Areas Act" (S4118), which would provide additional state school aid to districts in municipalities where at least 25 percent of their total acreage falls within the Highlands or Pinelands preservation areas — restrictions that limit development and, by extension, the local tax base those schools can draw on.

To qualify for the additional aid under the bill, a district must have experienced a net funding loss under the state's school funding formula (S2) and have an enrollment of more than 500 students.

"Communities in the Highlands have been asked to shoulder a unique environmental burden for the State while Trenton has failed to hold up its end of the bargain," Bucco said. "This legislation is about recognizing those realities and making sure our students are supported and families aren't left carrying an unfair financial burden."

Tiver said the current funding structure leaves Highlands and Pinelands districts "doing far more with far less year after year."

"Every child deserves access to a world-class education, no matter where they live," Tiver said.

A companion bill has been referred to the Assembly Education Committee.

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