Lawmakers Pass Bill To Fix Aid: Could It Raise Belmar Taxes?

BELMAR – Lawmakers have passed a bill to quell the uproar over school aid cuts in New Jersey. And it's one that has a familiar theme. Could it be an option that Belmar may ultimately have to take?

Under the new bill, many school districts may be able to raise taxes to make up for school funding losses. Belmar was among the districts that lost money (see below).

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

And it's not immediately clear if Belmar and other area schools would have the option of raising taxes.

The Senate and Assembly last week passed the bill by 24-15 and 41-26-4 votes, respectively, with the "yes" votes largely falling along Democratic Party lines. Sen. Richard Codey, the former acting governor, was one of the few Democrats to vote no. Read more: NJ Lawmakers Vote To Raise Property Taxes To Fix School Aid

Senate President Steve Sweeney championed the legislation that would 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.

A number of school districts have struggled to stay within the cap – especially since the Murphy administration and state Legislature changed the school funding formula last year that brought severe cuts to suburban districts.

Lawmakers say the Sweeney legislation should almost immediately provide cap relief to about 40 out of the 194 districts that received Adjustment Aid cuts this year and are currently spending below the adequacy level defined in the School Funding Reform Act.

Or they would be districts that fall below adequacy between this year and the 2024-25 school year when Adjustment Aid will be fully phased out. So more than 40 districts may be able to ultimately raise taxes within the next 5 years.

The largest districts that would currently qualify for cap relief right now include Toms River Regional, Old Bridge, Brick, Lakewood, South Brunswick, Hillsborough, Rancocas Valley Regional and Leonia. Freehold Regional and Manalapan-Englishtown Regional are among the largest districts that would qualify in future years, Sweeney's office told Patch.

Indeed, Toms River, Brick, Hillsborough and other districts have talked about closing schools, cutting sports programs or taking other drastic steps to make up for the funding losses.

The Murphy administration provided emergency aid to a number of districts, but some administrators say the efforts fell way too short. Read more: 'Schools Will Have To Close:' NJ Districts Face Trouble Over Cuts

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

Below is the list of local school districts: The first number is the percentage decrease or increase in aid; the second is the amount of aid; the third is the loss or gain in aid dollars:

• Asbury Park -6.45% $49,739,416 -$3,426,828
• Belmar -2.69% $938,579 -$25,894
• Point Pleasant Boro -5.63% $5,485,987 -$327,367