It’s peak budget season at the State House in Trenton. But, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, few residents are paying attention. Some 23% of poll respondents said they have seen or heard little about the proposed spending plan for the 2024 fiscal year in the Garden State. And 53% said they have seen or heard nothing at all about the plan that that could have big implications for what goes into and comes out of residents’ pockets.

A lack of knowledge doesn’t seem to get in the way of strong opinions on aspects of the budget, however.

Whether to allow a surcharge on the corporate-business tax to sunset at the end of the year, as scheduled, has become a bone of contention in budget considerations. And poll respondents were happy to opine. Some 41% said let it expire versus 50% who said it should be extended.

On the endlessly debated — and contentious — school funding formula, about half said state aid should be distributed evenly among all school districts.

“The economy and education have always been two of the most contentious issues in New Jersey, so residents’ division on the corporate business tax expiration and the school funding formula comes as no surprise,” said Ashley Koning, the director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.