State Aid for Mendham, Chester School Districts Announced

The good news is all the school districts serving the Mendhams and Chesters won’t lose any state aid for the 2015-2016 school year.

The bad news is they won’t gain any, either.

In what has become the expected norm during Governor Chris Christie’s term in office, state aid remained flat for both districts, as announced by the Department of Education after last week’s budget address.

And while no district in the state lost aid, the overall budget for New Jersey’s 595 school districts increased by $5,204,365, an average of $8,746.83 per school district. Overall, the $5.2 million bump is just .06-percent increase year-over-year in the $7,960,011,347 statewide budget.

In Morris County, just five school districts saw an increase in state aid: Boonton; Butler; Morris Hills Regional; Netcong; and Pequannock. It was Morris Hills Regional that claimed a veritable windfall, seeing an increase of $262,086. The other 34 districts in the county remained flat.

In the Chester Consolidated School District, serving both Chester Borough and Township, the total aid comes in at $1,040,352. That figure includes a $11,430 line item for PARCC readiness, as the standardized testing requires additional computer equipment in each school.

In Mendham Borough, aid remained at $249,335, with $5,980 for PARCC funding. In Mendham Township, aid came in at $430,042 with $6,970 for PARCC funding.

West Morris Regional High School District received aid in the amount of $4,425,501, with PARCC funding set at $28,030. The regional school district’s teacher’s union is currently without a contract.

Each school district in New Jersey is tasked with keeping its year-over-year budget under a 2-percent tax levy cap increase, not including health and pension payments. Since the law was signed into action in 2010, neither school district has exceeded the cap. If a district does exceed the cap for any reason, the public is given the opportunity to vote on passing or denying the spending plan.

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