Applicants Sought For Budget Committee In South Brunswick Schools

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — The South Brunswick School District on Thursday sent out a letter to the community, inviting applicants to join the new budget committee.

Back in August, the district announced that plans were in place to form a committee that could help them navigate budget cuts. More: South Brunswick Schools To Form Committee To Help Navigate Budget Cuts

“As the district continues to be challenged by decreased funding from the State, the fiscal impact of a 2% budget rule, and financial factors associated with post-pandemic America, budgeting in SBSD has become more and more complex,” Superintendent Scott Feder said in the letter.

The budget committee will help the district provide the town with more clarity on how budgeting works and its impact on property taxes.

The district hopes to create a diverse committee that represents all of South Brunswick. “We are looking for school personnel, district administration and supervisors, Township membership, seniors, parents, business owners and community members. A school budget impacts all who live, work or operate a business in our town, which is why we are looking for this expanded group of interested folks,” Feder said.

Residents interested to join the committee need to complete a brief application. You can find it here.

The budget committee will meet on the following days:

• Meeting 1: Wednesday, Oct. 19
• Meeting 2: Wednesday, Nov. 16
• Meeting 3: Wednesday, Dec. 14
• Meeting 4: Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023

The group will later decide if more meetings are needed. The meetings will take place at the Board Office from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

For the 2022-23 school year, the school district saw its funding cut by more than $1.7 million. More: South Brunswick Schools Facing $1.7M State Aid Cut For '22-23

This puts the district in a tough spot financially. The state's school-funding formula for aid comes from S2 — a controversial law passed in 2018 that modified how New Jersey determines to allocate its funding for each district. FY2023 would be the fifth of seven state budgets that S2 will impact.

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