More than 150 New Jersey school districts facing cuts in aid under Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed state budget could get a partial reprieve through legislation approved by the Senate on Monday.
The move to add more than $100 million to the next state budget to reduce planned aid cuts for some K-12 schools comes on the eve of the first public hearing on the $53.1 billion spending plan Murphy has proposed for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The bill’s advancement also comes as Democrats are preparing to defend their control of both houses of the Legislature during elections later this year, and as Murphy, a second-term Democrat, has frequently pitched to the public that state funding for public schools is another form of property-tax relief.
The timing of Monday’s legislative action is also important for school districts since they are already preparing budgets for the next school year.
Legislative sponsors said many districts were surprised to see the scale of funding cuts they were initially in line for according to aid figures for the 2024 fiscal year the Murphy administration released earlier this month.
Why the urgency?
In response, the bill to partially undo the cuts has been fast-tracked by lawmakers, with a formal introduction last week. And just hours before Monday’s Senate vote, the measure was cleared with bipartisan support by members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
The measure that cleared the Senate on Monday would allow districts facing new cuts to get two-thirds of that aid restored, if the districts meet certain conditions.
“Every school district, here and across the state, has to decide on their budget in the next approximately six weeks, and that’s why we’re acting today,” said Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-Somerset), a primary sponsor of the bill.
The legislation heads next to the full Assembly, where it could be approved by the end of the month, according to the current legislative calendar.
For his part, Murphy has already endorsed the legislation, saying it is in line with a commitment to provide students in New Jersey with a “world-class education.”
Murphy’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 calls for increasing the total amount of funding earmarked for K-12 public schools in New Jersey. But not every district is in line to receive more state aid under New Jersey’s current school-funding law, which serves as the basis for the amounts that are currently included in Murphy’s spending plan.
Conditions attached
The measure that cleared the Senate in a 36-0 vote on Monday would allow districts facing new cuts to get two-thirds of that aid restored, if the districts meet certain conditions.
Among the conditions is the requirement that districts submit a written plan to the administration indicating how they plan to fund operations in future years when this aid — which is being billed as a one-time only measure — is no longer available.
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In all, Murphy’s budget for the 2024 fiscal year would increase spending by nearly 5% over the budget enacted by the governor and lawmakers for the current fiscal year. Murphy’s proposal does that with no tax increases.
‘This restoration will buy these districts some time and help them set course on a brighter future. — ” Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth)
With concerns about the potential for a recession amid a period of persistent inflation, Murphy’s budget would also boost the state’s budget reserves to over $10 billion. Tax collections have been overperforming initial projections by some $3.7 billion during the current fiscal year, according to budget documents.
Among the areas where Murphy’s budget would increase overall spending is the line item for direct aid to K-12 public schools, which would go up by more than $830 million to a record-high of $10.75 billion, according to budget documents.
Cutting trend
But 157 districts would be facing funding cuts, according to an NJ Spotlight News analysis, under New Jersey’s current school-aid formula, which uses baseline per-pupil amounts, among many other factors, to determine aid totals for every district.
The cuts would be under $100,000 for almost half of those districts facing reductions, but 25 districts would see cuts over $1 million, including Jersey City, where state funding would be reduced by $50 million without lawmaker intervention.
The measure that cleared the Senate on Monday would allocate $102.8 million in additional funding for the K-12 districts facing aid cuts.
“This restoration will buy these districts some time, and help them set course on a brighter future,” said Senate Education Committee Vin Gopal Chair (D-Monmouth).
While the state Constitution gives the governor the role of starting the budget season by proposing a spending plan, it’s lawmakers who have the power to write the annual appropriations bill that is sent to the governor for final consideration prior to July 1.
The first of four legislative hearings where testimony on the budget will be taken from the public is scheduled for Tuesday at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
— Graphic by Colleen O’Dea
