School Funding Cuts For Toms River Down To $1.4M Under Christie-Sweeney Deal

TRENTON, NJ — A deal between Gov. Chris Christie and state lawmakers on school funding is expected to reduce a drastic cut in state aid to the Toms River Regional School District from $3.3 million to about $1.4 million, according to a report.

Townsquare Media reported the deal was reached Wednesday, though it was still dependent on the state Legislature approving the budget, something that remained up in the air as of late Thursday afternoon. Legislative sources confirmed the deal but did not provide details.

The deal would lessen the impact of the cuts that were initially proposed under the pact between State Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto two weeks ago, but would not fully eliminate them.

The Sweeney-Prieto deal would have distributed $100 million in state aid to more than 370 districts, many of which are in critical need of funding due to increasing enrollment. That deal also would have taken $46 million from 126 districts across the state that were deemed "overfunded." Among those districts facing the worst cuts were Toms River and the Brick Township School District in Ocean County, and the Middletown Township School District in Monmouth County. Brick stood to lose nearly $2.2 million in state aid, while Middletown was scheduled to see its aid cut by $1.18 million.

School leaders, local officials and 10th District representatives Jim Holzapfel, Greg McGuckin and Dave Wolfe, along with state legislators from several counties, spoke out against the cuts, calling the scope and the timing of the cuts devastating. Lawmakers, residents and other local officials have been lobbying Sweeney and Prieto to reconsider the cuts, which would have deeply impacted the budgets in both Brick and Toms River.

Toms River Regional Superintendent David Healy has declined to give specifics on what a cut of $3.3 million in funding would do to the district, but its previously approved budget included the elimination of 17 staff positions, including security officers and some teachers.

School budgets for the 2017-18 school year had to be completed by the end of April.

In a commentary published in the Asbury Park Press on June 25, Sweeney defended the cuts to Brick and Toms River, saying declining enrollment in the districts was the reasoning behind slashing their aid.

Brick and Toms River school officials, along with local politicians, have pointed out that the two districts are still recovering from the ravages of Superstorm Sandy. Healy, at a joint press conference with Brick officials and Holzapfel, McGuckin and Wolfe, noted that Toms River Township alone has more than $600 million in ratables that have not returned to the property tax rolls.

The deal worked out between Christie, Sweeney and Prieto would reduce the cuts to 2 percent of the aid a district receives, rather than the 1.5 percent of the overall budget that was set by the Sweeney-Prieto plan. That would make the cut to Toms River schools $1,366,845. While it's not $3.3 million, it's still a significant cut in a district where every penny spent is scrutinized.

According to the Timesquare Media report, whether the cuts go through as currently spelled out depends on the acceptance of a group of bills including one that would revamp Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and limit its surplus.

As of Thursday afternoon, the state budget remained in limbo, after the budget failed an initial Assembly vote, with a tally of 24-21 in favor, with 35 members of the Assembly not voting, the Asbury Park Press reported. The budget needs 41 yes votes to pass in the Assembly.

Sweeney told reporters he was not planning to post the budget for a vote on Thursday, according to the Asbury Park Press, which said senators were planning to come back to the State House on Friday to try to finalize the budget.

Even if the budget passes the Assembly, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate, as senators have begun chiming in that they will not support the budget as is due to the remaining school funding cuts. Holzapfel has said he would not support any cut, and Sen. Jennifer Beck, who represents two districts that stand to gain — Freehold and Red Bank — has been very vocal in her opposition to the cuts.

Sen. Anthony Bucco, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, criticized the Christie-Sweeney-Prieto deal on the Senate floor Thursday, saying, "Cutting three-part deals behind closed doors is the wrong way to make changes that will affect every New Jersey taxpayer."

"Many school districts will remain drastically underfunded and others will scramble to cover the cost of last-minute million-dollar cuts, after their budgets have already been set," Bucco, a Republican from the 25th District in Morris County. "This school funding scheme fails to address the systemic problems with the formula. It’s a one-year fix that will be completely unaffordable without future tax increases."

Image via Shutterstock