TRENTON, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey school officials are pleading for state lawmakers to fix what they say is a broken school funding system.
School funding has been a common subject of conversation in Trenton as lawmakers work on the state budget for next year. Under the current “S2” formula, more than 100 districts have seen budget cuts while others get massive, unexpected increases.
Lenape School District Superintendent Dr. Carol Birnbohm says enrollment in her district dropped by 80 students, so she anticipated a cut of about half a million dollars. However, the district is losing $4.7 million this year.
“The unpredictable nature of this school funding formula is one of the first problems that needs to be resolved,” she said.
Millville Superintendent Tony Trongone’s district is getting more money this year. The former president of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators says it doesn’t make much sense to base state aid on property values, as S2 does, because those gains aren’t cash-in-hand.
Trongone says whatever solution lawmakers decide on, it needs to include caps on annual state aid cuts or increases. “We don’t have guardrails right now to reduce the volatility and increase the stability,” he said.
Both superintendents said there are several school funding bills being discussed in Trenton, both Democrat- and Republican-sponsored, with good ideas. They urge lawmakers to work together to solve the school funding crisis.