Eliminating 274 School Districts? Tolls? Look At What NJ Could Do

Have you already been turned off by the acrimony you've seen in the efforts to legalize marijuana? Wait until you see what New Jersey lawmakers may have in store for the future.

More tolls and the merging school districts are among the items on a possible wish list put together by a panel convened by a top New Jersey lawmaker to study tax and fiscal policy (see list of school districts that could be merged/eliminated below).

Now that top lawmaker, Senate President Steve Sweeney, is speaking to business groups and others around the state and pitching a 32-recommendation “Path to Progress” plan that he, 26 analysts and so-called experts helped draw up last year.

Sweeney, speaking to the New Jersey Business and Industry Association on Tuesday, said he had one goal in mind: Avoiding raising taxes.

Indeed, Sweeney and other lawmakers have pushed back against Gov. Phil Murphy's plan to raise taxes on millionaires this year, saying the state should search elsewhere for revenues to help balance the budget. Read more: 6 Major Points In NJ Gov. Murphy's Budget Address That Affect You

"There is no money for anything unless we raise taxes," Sweeney said. "I, for one, have had enough of raising taxes."

Those recommendations included in the “Path to Progress” include:

• Merge all K-4, K-5, K-6, K-8, and K-9 school districts into K-12 regional districts to improve the quality of education and promote efficiency.
• Install high-occupancy toll lanes (or HOT lane) on I-80, I-295, I-287, among others.
• Permit the establishment of two countywide school district pilot programs.
• Explore the viability of transferring major assets such as the New Jersey Turnpike system to the state pension system to lower the unfunded liability and generate new revenue streams for the pension system.
• Create a Property Tax Assessment Study Commission to study the state’s tax assessment practices and make recommendations for countywide or regional tax assessment to ensure consistency and efficiency.

The plan is similar to a letter released last year that also detailed potentially dramatic policy changes proposed by the "Economic and Fiscal Policy Working Group," another Sweeney-supported think-tank.

That letter drew controversy when it talked about requiring municipalities with less than 5,000 people to merge with adjacent municipalities. Read more: Eliminating 191 Towns? More Tolls? Look At What NJ Could Do

Sweeney acknowledged that his school consolidation plan would be unpopular, but he also believes that it could provide the state an additional $1 billion.

"The goal is to eliminate the administration, put a principal in the school, get rid of the school district, leave a principal, let the regional high school become a K-12 district," he said. "You go from 600 districts to 320."

"That's not a bad idea," he added. "You'll save probably close to about a billion dollars."

If the school districts were to be consolidated, here are the K-6 and K-8 that would be merged/eliminated:

• Absecon City, Atlantic
• Brigantine City, Atlantic
• Egg Harbor City, Atlantic
• Estell Manor City, Atlantic
• Folsom Boro, Atlantic
• Galloway Twp, Atlantic
• Hamilton Twp, Atlantic
• Linwood City, Atlantic
• Margate City, Atlantic
• Mullica Twp, Atlantic
• Northfield City, Atlantic
• Port Republic City, Atlantic
• Somers Point City, Atlantic
• Ventnor City, Atlantic
• Weymouth Twp, Atlantic
• Allendale Boro, Bergen
• Alpine Boro, Bergen
• Carlstadt Boro, Bergen
• Closter Boro, Bergen
• Demarest Boro, Bergen
• East Rutherford Boro, Bergen
• Edgewater Boro, Bergen
• Englewood Cliffs Boro, Bergen
• Fairview Boro, Bergen
• Franklin Lakes Boro, Bergen
• Harrington Park Boro, Bergen
• Haworth Boro, Bergen
• Hillsdale Boro, Bergen
• Ho Ho Kus Boro, Bergen
• Little Ferry Boro, Bergen
• Maywood Boro, Bergen
• Montvale Boro, Bergen
• Moonachie Boro, Bergen
• Northvale Boro, Bergen
• Norwood Boro, Bergen
• Oakland Boro, Bergen
• Old Tappan Boro, Bergen
• Oradell Boro, Bergen
• River Edge Boro, Bergen
• River Vale Twp, Bergen
• Rochelle Park Twp, Bergen
• Saddle River Boro, Bergen
• South Hackensack Twp, Bergen
• Upper Saddle River Boro, Bergen
• Woodcliff Lake Boro, Bergen
• Wyckoff Twp, Bergen
• Bass River Twp, Burlington
• Beverly City, Burlington
• Chesterfield Twp, Burlington
• Delanco Twp, Burlington
• Eastampton Twp, Burlington
• Edgewater Park Twp, Burlington
• Evesham Twp, Burlington
• Hainesport Twp, Burlington
• Lumberton Twp, Burlington
• Mansfield Twp, Burlington
• Medford Lakes Boro, Burlington
• Medford Twp, Burlington
• Mount Holly Twp, Burlington
• Mount Laurel Twp, Burlington
• New Hanover Twp, Burlington
• North Hanover Twp, Burlington
• Riverton, Burlington
• Shamong Twp, Burlington
• Southampton Twp, Burlington
• Springfield Twp, Burlington
• Tabernacle Twp, Burlington
• Westampton, Burlington
• Woodland Twp, Burlington
• Barrington Boro, Camden
• Bellmawr Boro, Camden
• Berlin Boro, Camden
• Berlin Twp, Camden
• Brooklawn Boro, Camden
• Clementon Boro, Camden
• Gibbsboro Boro, Camden
• Gloucester Twp, Camden
• Laurel Springs Boro, Camden
• Lawnside Boro, Camden
• Magnolia Boro, Camden
• Merchantville Boro, Camden
• Mount Ephraim Boro, Camden
• Runnemede Boro, Camden
• Somerdale Boro, Camden
• Stratford Boro, Camden
• Oaklyn, Camden
• Voorhees Twp, Camden
• Waterford Twp, Camden
• Woodlynne Boro, Camden
• Avalon Boro, Cape May
• Cape May City, Cape May
• Dennis Twp, Cape May
• Lower Twp, Cape May
• North Wildwood City, Cape May
• Stone Harbor Boro, Cape May
• Upper Twp, Cape May
• West Cape May Boro, Cape May
• Wildwood Crest Boro, Cape May
• Woodbine Boro, Cape May
• Commercial Twp, Cumberland
• Deerfield Twp, Cumberland
• Downe Twp, Cumberland
• Fairfield Twp, Cumberland
• Greenwich Twp, Cumberland
• Hopewell Twp, Cumberland
• Lawrence Twp, Cumberland
• Maurice River Twp, Cumberland
• Stow Creek Twp, Cumberland
• Upper Deerfield Twp, Cumberland
• Essex Fells Boro, Essex
• Fairfield Twp, Essex
• North Caldwell Boro, Essex
• Roseland Boro, Essex
• East Greenwich Twp, Gloucester
• Elk Twp, Gloucester
• Franklin Twp, Gloucester
• Greenwich Twp, Gloucester
• Harrison Twp, Gloucester
• Logan Twp, Gloucester
• Mantua Twp, Gloucester
• National Park Boro, Gloucester
• South Harrison Twp, Gloucester
• Swedesboro-Woolwich, Gloucester
• Wenonah Boro, Gloucester
• Westville Boro, Gloucester
• Woodbury Heights Boro, Gloucester
• East Newark Boro, Hudson
• Guttenberg Town, Hudson
• Alexandria Twp, Hunterdon
• Bethlehem Twp, Hunterdon
• Bloomsbury Boro, Hunterdon
• Califon Boro, Hunterdon
• Clinton Twp, Hunterdon
• Clinton-Glen Gardner, Hunterdon
• Delaware Twp, Hunterdon
• East Amwell Twp, Hunterdon
• Flemington-Raritan Reg, Hunterdon
• Franklin Twp, Hunterdon
• Frenchtown Boro, Hunterdon
• Hampton Boro, Hunterdon
• High Bridge Boro, Hunterdon
• Holland Twp, Hunterdon
• Kingwood Twp, Hunterdon
• Lebanon Boro, Hunterdon
• Lebanon Twp, Hunterdon
• Milford Boro, Hunterdon
• Readington Twp, Hunterdon
• Tewksbury Twp, Hunterdon
• Union Twp, Hunterdon
• Cranbury Twp, Middlesex
• Jamesburg Boro, Middlesex
• Milltown Boro, Middlesex
• Atlantic Highlands Boro, Monmouth
• Avon Boro, Monmouth
• Belmar Boro, Monmouth
• Bradley Beach Boro, Monmouth
• Brielle Boro, Monmouth
• Colts Neck Twp, Monmouth
• Deal Boro, Monmouth
• Eatontown Boro, Monmouth
• Fair Haven Boro, Monmouth
• Farmingdale Boro, Monmouth
• Freehold Boro, Monmouth
• Freehold Twp, Monmouth
• Highlands Boro, Monmouth
• Howell Twp, Monmouth
• Little Silver Boro, Monmouth
• Manalapan-Englishtown Reg, Monmouth
• Marlboro Twp, Monmouth
• Millstone Twp, Monmouth
• Monmouth Beach Boro, Monmouth
• Neptune City, Monmouth
• Oceanport Boro, Monmouth
• Red Bank Boro, Monmouth
• Roosevelt Boro, Monmouth
• Rumson Boro, Monmouth
• Sea Girt Boro, Monmouth
• Shrewsbury Boro, Monmouth
• Spring Lake Boro, Monmouth
• Spring Lake Heights Boro, Monmouth
• Tinton Falls, Monmouth
• Union Beach, Monmouth
• West Long Branch Boro, Monmouth
• Boonton Twp, Morris
• Chester Twp, Morris
• Denville Twp, Morris
• East Hanover Twp, Morris
• Florham Park Boro, Morris
• Hanover Twp, Morris
• Harding Township, Morris
• Lincoln Park Boro, Morris
• Long Hill Twp, Morris
• Mendham Boro, Morris
• Mendham Twp, Morris
• Mine Hill Twp, Morris
• Morris Plains Boro, Morris
• Mount Arlington Boro, Morris
• Netcong Boro, Morris
• Riverdale Boro, Morris
• Rockaway Boro, Morris
• Rockaway Twp, Morris
• Washington Twp, Morris
• Wharton Boro, Morris
• Bay Head Boro, Ocean
• Beach Haven Boro, Ocean
• Berkeley Twp, Ocean
• Eagleswood Twp, Ocean
• Island Heights Boro, Ocean
• Lakehurst Boro, Ocean
• Lavallette Boro, Ocean
• Little Egg Harbor Twp, Ocean
• Long Beach Island, Ocean
• Ocean Gate Boro, Ocean
• Ocean Twp, Ocean
• Seaside Heights Boro, Ocean
• Stafford Twp, Ocean
• Tuckerton Boro, Ocean
• Bloomingdale Boro, Passaic
• Haledon Boro, Passaic
• Little Falls Twp, Passaic
• North Haledon Boro, Passaic
• Prospect Park Boro, Passaic
• Ringwood Boro, Passaic
• Totowa Boro, Passaic
• Wanaque Boro, Passaic
• Woodland Park, Passaic
• Alloway Twp, Salem
• Elsinboro Twp, Salem
• Lower Alloways Creek, Salem
• Mannington Twp, Salem
• Oldmans Twp, Salem
• Quinton Twp, Salem
• Upper Pittsgrove Twp, Salem
• Bedminster Twp, Somerset
• Branchburg Twp, Somerset
• Green Brook Twp, Somerset
• South Bound Brook, Somerset
• Warren Twp, Somerset
• Watchung Boro, Somerset
• Andover Reg, Sussex
• Byram Twp, Sussex
• Frankford Twp, Sussex
• Franklin Boro, Sussex
• Fredon Twp, Sussex
• Green Twp, Sussex
• Hamburg Boro, Sussex
• Hampton Twp, Sussex
• Hardyston Twp, Sussex
• Lafayette Twp, Sussex
• Montague Twp, Sussex
• Ogdensburg Boro, Sussex
• Sandyston-Walpack Twp, Sussex
• Stanhope Boro, Sussex
• Stillwater Twp, Sussex
• Sussex-Wantage Regional, Sussex
• Garwood Boro, Union
• Mountainside Boro, Union
• Winfield Twp, Union
• Allamuchy Twp, Warren
• Alpha Boro, Warren
• Blairstown Twp, Warren
• Franklin Twp, Warren
• Frelinghuysen Twp, Warren
• Great Meadows Regional, Warren
• Greenwich Twp, Warren
• Harmony Twp, Warren
• Hope Twp, Warren
• Knowlton Twp, Warren
• Lopatcong Twp, Warren
• Mansfield Twp, Warren
• Oxford Twp, Warren
• Pohatcong Twp, Warren
• Washington Boro, Warren
• Washington Twp, Warren
• White Twp, Warren