GOP Assemblyman: NJ School Funding Plan Is Like ‘Sesame Street’ Song

NEW JERSEY — When New Jersey Assemblyman Al Barlas watched Gov. Phil Murphy give his annual budget address earlier this week, he was reminded of an old song on a beloved children’s show.

“When you fail to address learning loss and cut funding to 140 districts and then brag about your school funding plan, it reminds me of the Sesame Street song: ‘One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong,’” he quipped.

Barlas, a newly elected Republican state lawmaker in the 40th District, is among the critics of the governor’s school funding plan for the 2025 fiscal year, which was teased – along with other funding proposals – during Murphy’s speech on Tuesday. Read More: 5 Big Takeaways From Murphy's Budget Address

According to Murphy, the proposed 2025 state budget includes $11.7 billion for New Jersey’s public schools, an increase of $908 million from last year.

“We will be the first administration, in our state’s history, to fully fund New Jersey’s school funding formula,” the governor said.

Since the 2020-21 school year, the state has determined its annual distribution of education aid through S2, a controversial formula passed in 2018: Murphy's first year in office.

The governor has defended S2, saying the formula had to change to address inequities within the state. But critics have pointed to the losses in state aid among many school districts, which has resulted in boons for some – and cuts for others.

• See Related: NJ School Aid 2023 (Who's Getting More, Who's Getting Less)

Those critics include Barlas, who was elected last November as part of a Republican slate in the 40th District.

“During the governor’s budget address, we did not hear a word about learning loss and the impact it has had on communities,” said Barlas, a member of the Assembly Budget Committee. “We heard nothing about investments in the technology gap that exists between districts.”

“The legislature recently conducted a hearing on these very issues where we heard from educators, school officials and parents about the need for more investment in these areas,” he added.

Many school districts lost state funding last year, including Jersey City ($51 million, or 27.65 percent), Toms River Regional ($14 million, or 31.77 percent), and Asbury Park City ($8.5 million, or 29.32 percent).

But the state’s formula has been paying off for the towns in Barlas’ district, which includes the following municipalities:

• Essex County – Caldwell, Essex Fells, Fairfield, North Caldwell, Verona and West Caldwell
• Bergen County – Franklin Lakes, Ridgewood and Wyckoff
• Passaic County – Hawthorne, Little Falls, Totowa, Wayne and Woodland Park

Every town in the 40th District saw significant increases in school aid from the state last year, including Woodland Park, which saw a massive 68 percent increase, and Wayne – where Barlas has an office – which saw a 20 percent jump.

Essex County – where Barlas serves as Republican committee chair – received the most school aid in New Jersey. Essex County received $1.79 billion in K-12 aid, about 9.46 percent more than the previous year.

The next-highest totals were for Union County ($1.07 billion) and Passaic County ($1.04 billion).

• See Related: Essex County Is NJ's Biggest Winner In Latest School Aid Proposal
• See Related: NJ Preschool Aid Coming For 9 Essex County School Districts

This article contains reporting by Michelle Rotuno-Johnson and Nicole Rosenthal, Patch staff

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