Warren, Watchung Hills Will Get More School State Aid For 2022-23 Under Gov. Murphy Plan

WARREN, NJ — Good news for the Warren and Watchung Hills school as the districts are expected to get more money than last year in school aid from New Jersey as part of the latest state budget proposal.

Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed $19.2 billion for New Jersey pre-K to 12 schools for the Fiscal Year 2023 budget, including an additional $649.8 million for K-12 aid to put K-12 "formula" aid at $9.92 billion. Read More: NJ School Aid: Who's Getting More, Who's Getting Less

Warren Township Schools would receive $2,169,770 for the next fiscal year under the proposal — a 5.98 percent increase over its state aid for the current school year.

"We are happy to see the State increasing funding of local school districts who have been underfunded according to the State's formula for over a decade. Although State aid is a relatively small part of our overall budget, the additional funding helps maintain the district's programs and moderate the need for increases to the local tax levy," said Warren Township School Superintendent Dr. Matthew Mingle.

Watchung Hills Regional High School, which encompasses Warren, Watchung, Green Brook and Long Hill, would receive $2,251,800 for the next fiscal year under the proposal — a 13.12 percent increase over its state aid for the current school year.

"We are certainly pleased with the increase in state aid received by WHRHS this year as this brings us closer to being fully funded as per the state formula, helping us to continue to provide exceptional educational opportunities for our students in a fiscally responsible manner for our taxpayers," said WHRHS Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth C. Jewett.

State aid is an influential factor in a school district's share of property taxes. Many districts say that cuts — or even flat spending — force them to raise taxes for local homeowners.

Property taxes in New Jersey are made up of three parts: school, municipal and county. Last year, the average property owner in the state paid roughly 52.9 percent of their total for school taxes, 29.4 percent for municipal taxes and 17.8 percent for county taxes.

The average residential property tax in Warren in 2021 was $15,525 average property tax on a $748,035 home with 65 percent supporting schools, 16.1 percent aiding the township and 18.9 percent going to the county. Read more: Warren Homeowners Pay 45th Highest Property Taxes In NJ

New Jersey tends to have among the nation's highest property taxes. In fact, New Jersey had the highest average taxes on a $217,500 home ($5,419) than any state in 2022, according to WalletHub.

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