Lacey Wanted $623K In Emergency School Aid, State Gave $0

LACEY, NJ — The Lacey Township School District applied for $623,156 in emergency state funding. The state passed on Lacey and awarded the district nothing.

Out of the 34 districts that applied for emergency aid, only 13 received some in return. Five Ocean County school districts applied, and most received little or no return:

• Brick Twp.: $2,741,894 requested, nothing awarded
• Lacey Twp.: $623,156 requested, nothing awarded
• Lakehurst Boro: $722,754 requested, $651,122 awarded
• Point Pleasant Boro: $327,367 requested, nothing awarded
• Toms River Regional: $4,473,821 requested, $854,634 awarded

The 34 districts requested $362,577,141 in emergency aid. The state awarded $15,050,034 in total.

The state decreased Lacey's school aid by $623,156 earlier this year — the same amount that of emergency aid the district applied for months later. The decrease brought Lacey's state funding to $20,347,244 for the year — a 2.97 percent decrease from 2018-19. Lacey administration did not respond to Patch for comment.

Senate President Steve Sweeney said this past week that he will introduce legislation to provide property tax cap relief for districts that are facing cuts. Sweeney was referring to a 2 percent cap set by the Christie administration in 2010 on how much money school districts can raise through property taxes. Read more: New Plan To Fix NJ School Aid: Raise Property Taxes Even More

Gov. Phil Murphy, however, is saying that he is not in favor of the idea and would prefer a millionaire's tax instead.

A number of school districts have struggled to stay within the cap, Sweeney said, and have had to cut programs instead.

"We need to ensure that students do not suffer in districts that are now taking cuts after receiving more than their fair share of state aid for more than a decade," Sweeney said.

Sweeney also said lawmakers will continue to work to consolidate nearly 300 school districts as a way to save money. Read more: Renewed Push On Plan To Eliminate 275 NJ School Districts