Education leaders and advocates gathered on Thursday in Trenton to voice their concerns over the state’s contentious school funding formula and how — and when — money is distributed to local districts.
The formula has been under scrutiny and debate lately, with most districts seeing annual increases in state aid over the last several years, but not all. And the pattern is expected to continue for at least another year, as Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed a record investment for New Jersey’s education system in his most recent budget — but one that still leaves more than 100 districts seeing a cut.
“One of the few constants that I have seen throughout education is the chaos that comes every March and as numbers are released, and we’re unsure as to what our budget will look like,” testified Henry Goodhue, the president of the Hillsborough Education Association. “And ultimately throughout that, we have an endeavor to protect the programs and the positions that are there to ensure that students continue to receive an excellent education.
“But that gets more and more difficult each year,” he said.
