NJ Spotlight: Democrats’ Budget Plan Richer for Some Districts than Others

Now on an 11th-hour collision course with Gov. Chris Christie, the Democratic leadership of the legislature has advertised its state budget proposals as ones that will provide property tax relief to every community by way of new school aid.

Yet a breakdown of how each district will fare shows that there will be a lot more relief for some than for others, due, in part to the disparate ways that schools have been funded for years. Some districts would get double, even triple, their expected state aid under theDemocrats’ plan, while others would see just a small fraction of an increase.

Both the Assembly and Senate yesterday moved one step closer to approving their versions of a new $30.6 billion state budget for next year, including an additional $1.1 billion in school aid. Both budget committees approved their respective appropriations bills along party lines, setting up votes in both houses on Wednesday.

And both budget committees also approved a separate bill for a new millionaire's tax that would add another $458 million in aid to schools next year, virtually all to suburban districts. Christie has already indicated he would veto such a measure, which could mean an override vote later this week.

"In my opinion, education funding is property tax relief in this state," said Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), sponsor of the Democrat's budget bill.

But a closer look at the local impact of each bill shows the wide range of dollars that will come with both the budget proposal and the additional revenue from the millionaire’s tax, depending on what the Democrats and Christie finally agree on.

Continue reading this story in NJ Spotlight.

NJ Spotlight, an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.