Newark School Budget Passes With Tax Hike: Aid, Election, Inflation

NEWARK, NJ — There will be a $31 increase to the average homeowner’s property taxes in Newark under the public school district’s latest spending plan.

The Newark Board of Education unanimously voted to approve a $1.52 billion budget for 2024-2025 at a hearing on March 27 (watch the video below, or see footage online here).

In past years, Newark voters have gotten the chance to cast “yes” or “no” ballots for the local school budget. But under a new state law – which only requires Type II districts to put their budgets up for a public vote if they top 2 percent – that won’t take place at this year’s school election in Newark. See Related: Newark 2024 School Election: Candidates, Voting Age, Dates, Forum

TAX IMPACT

The Newark Public School District’s 2024-2025 spending plan will mean a tax increase of $31 for an average homeowner in the city (see chart below). Administrators noted that the tax hike is the district's first increase in three years.

Property taxes in New Jersey are mainly made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Here’s how that played out in Newark for 2023, according to state data:

• School – 31%
• Municipal – 54.8%
• County – 14.2%

In 2023, the average Newark homeowner paid $7,069 in property taxes on a home valued at $189,640. Read More: Property Taxes In Newark (See Latest 5-Year Breakdown)

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STATE AID

Property taxes are a relatively small percentage of the Newark public school district’s revenues, however.

During last week’s budget session, administrators pointed out that the bulk of the school district’s general funds come from state aid – which is up 8.79 percent from last year under Gov. Phil Murphy’s latest proposal. See Related: Newark Schools May Get More State Aid (Here's How Much)

But just because the district is considered “fully funded” for the year by the state, it doesn’t mean that there is spare cash just lying around, officials say. And some have suggested that state officials take another look at how New Jersey parses out its aid to school districts.

“Inflation is not just impacting our daily lives, it’s also impacting our school district,” board co-vice president Vereliz Santana said. “Transportation services, materials – all of that has increased in pricing. So even though we’re fully funded – the governor did follow through on his commitment to fully funding us – this school funding formula was put together pre-COVID.”

“There is a need for the state Legislature to go back to the drawing board and rework that formula,” she added.

OTHER DETAILS

Here are some other budget highlights for New Jersey’s largest public school district, according to administrators:

Increased Enrollment – “This phenomenon has occurred as a result of several factors including: new schools, increased grade spans, Pre-K expansion, High School Redesign Strategy, and migrant population.”

Academic Funding – “We are investing and reallocating approximately $103 million directly to schools over FY 23-24, which will help us better support our students who need it most.”

Technology and Facility Upgrades – “We are also continuing to invest in critical technology and facilities needs.”

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