Princeton Schools Expected To See Increase In State Aid

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Public Schools can expect to see a hefty increase in their state aid for the 2019-20 school year.

Gov. Phil Murphy's administration this week released the proposed state aid numbers for every school district in the 2019-20 school year.

Princeton is expected to see an 3.24 percent increase in state aid. This means the district would receive a total of $4,153,532 or $130,329 more in state aid.

Princeton was the third highest increase in Mercer County. Hopewell Valley Regional received the highest increase in aid in the county with 10.85 percent.

"We are grateful to the Murphy administration for helping the children in Princeton and children of the state," Steve Cochrane, Princeton superintendent said."However state aid is not a panacea. It only represents 4.5 percent of the revenues the district needs to support our services."

East Windsor Regional received the least with an increase of 9.65 percent.

Overall, state aid would increase 2.43 over the 2018-19 school year under a plan that requires approval from the state Legislature. That number would be smaller than the 3.5 percent increase Murphy originally proposed last year, but that original plan had no state aid cuts for any district.

Here is a list of nearby Mercer County districts to compare. They are listed from the highest amount of aid to least. (The first number is the percentage decrease or increase in aid; the second is the amount of aid; the third is the loss or gain in aid dollars):

1. Hopewell Valley Regional, Mercer 10.85% $3,591,225 $351,448
2. Hamilton Twp, Mercer 0.77% $74,684,341 $568,960
3. Princeton, Mercer 3.24% $4,153,532 $130,329
4. Trenton City, Mercer 3.54% $250,805,450 $8,578,701
5. Mercer County Vocational, Mercer 6.53% $2,794,150 $171,240
6. Lawrence Twp, Mercer 6.89% $4,220,208 $272,090
7. Ewing Twp, Mercer 7.05% $13,007,061 $856,416
8. Robbinsville Twp, Mercer 8.30% $7,341,597 $562,659
9. W Windsor-Plainsboro Reg, Mercer 8.36% $9,279,378 $715,796
10. East Windsor Regional, Mercer 9.65% $26,329,678 $2,317,954

Click here to view the full state-wide list.

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