South Brunswick Schools Could Be In Financial Jeopardy In 2024-25, Say Officials

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ – The school district has adopted the 2023-24 budget with no cuts to student services and minimal increase in fees for some programs.

But with the district facing regular state aid cuts due to the controversial S2 funding formula, the 2024-25 school year could be in “jeopardy,” district officials said.

The school district could possibly face a shortfall of $13 million in the next school year, as the state continues to slash funds, according to the presentation made by Superintendent Scott Feder during the last Board of Education meeting. The district's finance department crunched the numbers for the upcoming year based on the funding formula and the presentation was made to Board members.

In the 2024-25 school year, the district will not be receiving the one-time $2.6 million it got in stabilization aid. The S2 reduction is expected to be $6.8 million. “That would make our state aid since S2, go from $24.5 million to $8 million, with no way to get it back,” Feder said.

The district will fall short of $6 million in roll-over funds, and with a tax levy of just 2 percent, amounting to $2.4 million, the district will have to find over $13 million dollars to fund its programs.

Here is what the impact will look like:

• Increased class size for K-12
• Less support for behavior, HIB, family communications
• Limited extra-curricular programs
• Significant reduction to the music program
• No busing for students who live within 2 miles of the school
• Large reduction in staff due to loss of programs

With these issues looming large many families who move to the township for the school system will reconsider, which could have a direct impact on property values.

The South Brunswick School District is among the top in the state and the district has the seventh lowest per pupil spending in NJ for similar districts. SBSD has continued to lose money under the S2 funding formula and the 2 percent cap on taxes prevents it from raising more money to fund programs.

The ever-increasing cost of living and inflation has also exacerbated the district's financial woes.

In the past, Feder and Board President Lisa Rodgers have testified before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, pointing out the flaws in the S2 funding formula and its damaging impacts on the district. More: S2 Funding Formula Flawed, South Brunswick Super Tells Lawmakers

The district has requested parents and community members to continue with their advocacy to get lawmakers to stop cutting crucial funds.

What is S2?

S2 was signed into law in 2018, and targeted districts that were said to be overfunded and losing enrollment, especially districts that were receiving so-called "adjustment aid" when the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 took effect.

The S2 cuts, which were supposed to be spread out over seven years — the 2024-25 budget would be the final year — wiped out adjustment aid for most of the districts receiving it in the 2020-21 budget. The focus has shifted to "local fair share," which the state defines as what it says a school district's residents should be paying in property taxes to support their schools. It is defined by a complex algorithm that is still the subject of litigation under an Open Public Records Act lawsuit.

The S2 aid cuts are scheduled to end with the 2024-25 school budget year, but there is no indication of what will happen beyond then.

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