South Brunswick Schools Lose In State Aid Budget

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — The budget numbers for the upcoming 2020-21 school year were released Thursday by Gov. Phil Murphy's administration. And South Brunswick schools will get eight percent less in state aid next year, while East Brunswick will see a substantial increase.

South Brunswick public schools received $23.6 million this year, which will drop to $21.7 million for the 2020-21 school year.

Meanwhile East Brunswick got $19.8 million this year, which will increase to $22.2 million in 2020-21, a 12 percent increase in state aid.

"The budget proposal unveiled on Tuesday furthers my administration's commitment to level the playing field across New Jersey's public education system, ensuring that all students have access to a high quality, world-class education," said Murphy on Thursday. "Every dollar spent to maintain our position as the national leader in education makes New Jersey more affordable for communities who deserve much-needed property tax relief."

Many towns across New Jersey saw a reduction with Thursday's numbers: 193 school districts saw a decrease under Murphy's school funding plan, and they may need to raise property taxes to make up the differences. Read: These 193-Plus Districts May Face Tax Hike: NJ School Aid Figures

And yet the budget numbers gave 371 school districts an increase in aid. The aid calculations are based on enrollment, student needs, and local fiscal capacity as measured by equalized property valuation and income, said Michael Yaple, a spokesman with the New Jersey Department of Education.

"The state’s current school-funding formula, the School Funding Reform Act, was enacted in 2008. However, for years New Jersey never followed the funding formula. Some districts were overfunded, while in other communities the state funding never kept pace with factors such as rapidly growing student enrollment," he explained. "Then a law enacted in 2018 aimed to eliminate years of funding inequities that built up over time. The law, which will phase in realigned funding levels over seven-year period, is designed to place all districts on the path to full funding, in which all school districts will be funded based on student enrollment and community factors as envisioned in the state’s school-funding formula."

State aid for public school districts weighs heavily in many district's decisions on raising local property taxes, which in New Jersey are already the highest in the nation.

Since he first took office, Murphy's administration has taken heat for state aid cuts to hundreds of public school districts, most notably in Ocean and Monmouth county towns such as Toms River and Middletown.