Lacey Schools To Lose Funding Under 2022-23 Budget

LACEY, NJ — After two difficult years in the pandemic, Lacey Township School District schools join other Ocean County schools in being set to receive decreased funding in the 2022-23 school year.

This month, Gov. Phil Murphy's administration proposed $19.2 billion for New Jersey pre-K to 12 schools for the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, including an additional $649.8 million for K-12 aid to put K-12 "formula" aid at $9.92 billion.

New Jersey's school-funding formula for state aid comes from S2 — a controversial law passed in 2018 that modified how the state determines to allocate its funding for each district. FY2023 would be the fifth of seven state budgets that S2 will impact.

Read More: 2022 NJ School Aid: Who's Getting More, Who's Getting Less

According to the NJ Department of Education, Lacey is set to lose several million dollars in aid, for a total decrease of 18.38 percent.

Murphy's proposed budget also includes $20 million in stabilization aid — one-time assistance for school districts facing fiscal challenges. The governor introduced the $48.9 billion budget Tuesday to state legislators.

Read More: Gov. Murphy's $49B NJ Budget Focuses On Property Taxes, Relief

State aid is an influential factor in a district's decisions on raising local property taxes. Many say that aid cuts or flat spending each year give them cause to raise what are already the highest property taxes in the country.