State Aid Decreases For Lacey School District

The Lacey Township School District will see a decrease in state aid, according to figures Gov. Phil Murphy's administration released this week.

The Lacey district will see a decrease of $623,156 in state funding, bringing the total state aid to $20,347,244. That's a 2.97 percent decrease from 2018.

Overall, state aid would increase 2.43 over the 2018-19 school year under a plan that requires approval from the state Legislature. That number would be smaller than the 3.5 percent increase Murphy originally proposed last year, but that original plan had no state aid cuts for any district.

The following Ocean County schools also received decreases or no increase in state aid:

• Ocean Twp, Ocean -10.15% $5,871,831 -$663,015
• Beach Haven Boro, Ocean -8.80% $215,772 -$20,816
• Brick Twp, Ocean -8.03% $31,400,703 -$2,741,894
• Seaside Park Boro, Ocean -7.43% $139,844 -$11,223
• Plumsted Twp, Ocean -7.07% $10,581,143 -$804,862
• Point Pleasant Boro, Ocean -5.63% $5,485,987 -$327,367
• Eagleswood Twp, Ocean -4.99% $645,895 -$33,926
• Jackson Twp, Ocean -4.71% $46,473,068 -$2,297,004
• Toms River Regional, Ocean -4.21% $63,203,786 -$2,780,498
• Stafford Twp, Ocean -3.91% $9,065,632 -$368,984
• Tuckerton Boro, Ocean -3.11% $2,180,353 -$70,063
• Lacey Twp, Ocean -2.97% $20,347,244 -$623,156
• Long Beach Island, Ocean -1.55% $774,965 -$12,215
• Little Egg Harbor Twp, Ocean -1.53% $9,252,030 -$143,520
• Lavallette Boro, Ocean -1.48% $169,957 -$2,553
• Island Heights Boro, Ocean -1.24% $295,372 -$3,708
• Manchester Twp, Ocean -0.60% $5,374,263 -$32,569
• Pinelands Regional, Ocean -0.31% $11,093,513 -$34,573
• Ocean Gate Boro, Ocean -0.26% $951,425 -$2,438
• Lakehurst Boro, Ocean 0.00% $5,974,209 $0
• Ocean County Vocational, Ocean 0.00% $5,585,095 $0

The following Ocean County school districts received increases in state aid:

• Lakewood Twp, Ocean 63.66% $38,404,229 $14,938,768
• Southern Regional, Ocean 7.55% $2,501,449 $175,607
• Oceanport Boro, Monmouth 6.79% $531,890 $33,802
• Berkeley Twp, Ocean 4.39% $2,673,332 $112,522
• Bay Head Boro, Ocean 2.51% $74,737 $1,827
• Seaside Heights Boro, Ocean 1.73% $1,067,765 $18,188
• Point Pleasant Beach, Ocean 1.14% $590,412 $6,664
• Barnegat Twp, Ocean 0.47% $20,535,935 $95,125
• Central Regional, Ocean 0.30% $4,269,759 $12,972

Murphy was ultimately forced to revise his agenda and put forward a plan that cut aid to 171 districts in the 2018-19. Senate President Steve Sweeney got the upper hand in his push to fully fund a number of districts that had been promised more money for years.

State aid weighs heavily in many district's decisions on raising local property taxes. Many often say that aid cuts or flat spending from year to year gives them cause to raise what are already the highest property taxes.

Some districts saw double-digit increases, including Lakewood (63.66 percent), Atlantic City (39.23 percent) and Woodbridge (21.78 percent). The biggest losers happened to be in areas where Murphy may not be so popular, such Hunterdon and Monmouth counties.

Some of those districts were already protesting the numbers. Superintendent Charles Sampson of the Freehold Regional High School district, whose district is losing $3.78 million, a 7.52 decline, called the process "flawed."

"Formula deeply flawed, not transparent an artificially inflated," he tweeted. "Gutting one of most efficient models in New Jersey."

Read more here: These 190-Plus Districts May Face Tax Hike: NJ School Aid Figures