Princeton School District's State Aid Rebounds After A Year Of Cuts

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Public Schools is slated to receive $5,853,382 in state aid for the 2026-27 school year.

This is an increase of $202,349, or 3.58 percent, over the current year, according to figures released recently by the New Jersey Department of Education.

The increase reverses a 3 percent cut the district absorbed in the current 2025-26 school year. Here is how the aid breaks down across the three primary categories, according to NJDOE figures:

• Transportation Aid: $1,059,262
• Special Education Aid: $4,148,120
• Security Aid: $646,000

Princeton receives no equalization aid, the formula's primary funding component, because the district's local property wealth and income are sufficient to fund its adequacy budget without state support.

The uptick in Princeton's allocation comes at a financially pressured time for the district. Princeton lost 3 percent in state aid for the 2025-26 school year and risked losing more than $1 million in federal funding. In response, Princeton Council adopted a resolution directing 100 percent of surplus PILOT funds from the Avalon Thanet Circle apartment development to the Princeton School District, with an annual contribution estimated to range from $300,000 to $500,000 or higher.

State aid makes up a fraction of the district's overall revenue. In the 2024-25 school year, the local tax levy accounted for approximately 81 percent of district revenue, with state aid making up about 8 percent.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill's proposed budget for 2026-27 includes $12.4 billion for aid to the state's 574 public school districts. Similar to 2025-26, most aid increases were capped at 6 percent, and the majority of aid cuts were capped at 3 percent. Princeton's increase falls within the typical range for districts receiving more funding this cycle.

Of the 574 districts, 400 are receiving increases in aid, 167 are seeing reductions, and seven are unchanged.

Statewide, the five districts receiving the largest monetary increases are Newark, up $60,575,491; Paterson, up $37,115,332; Trenton, up $23,984,731; Camden, up $22,121,845; and Passaic, up $15,072,627.

The largest monetary cuts went to West New York, down $4,211,640; Jersey City, down $3,885,203; Bridgeton, down $3,280,044; Edison, down $2,746,262; and North Bergen, down $2,037,667.

The figures are part of Sherrill's proposed budget and are subject to legislative approval.

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