Senator Carmen Amato, Jr., Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, and Assemblyman Gregory Myhre announced on Mar. 31 plans to introduce new legislation aimed at restoring full funding for school districts affected by cuts under the state’s current school funding formula.
The legislators said the proposed bill is intended to address ongoing concerns about how state aid is distributed among New Jersey’s school districts. The lawmakers argue that the existing formula has resulted in significant reductions for certain districts while capping increases, which they say leaves some communities persistently underfunded.
In a joint statement, Amato, Rumpf, and Myhre said: “The state’s blatantly rigged school funding formula continues to take a heavy toll on students, educators, and taxpayers through discriminatory aid cuts and chronic underfunding that can only be described as draconian.” They added: “Trenton’s powerbrokers know full well the dire circumstances facing school districts on the losing side of the funding formula, but they continue to protect the status quo. Their actions ensure that excessive amounts of state school aid are consistently funneled to Newark and other favored districts with questionable budgetary practices. Meanwhile, school districts such as Lacey, Little Egg Harbor, Stafford, and Waretown are forced to make do through layoffs, busing cuts, higher taxes, and even the sale of school buildings.”
The delegation also criticized what they described as a lack of transparency in how aid reductions have been imposed over nearly a decade. According to their statement: “After nearly a decade of reductions, districts on the losing end were finally set to receive modest increases in state aid—though still below original funding levels. However Trenton once again put its thumb on the scale by capping those increases at six percent…”
Amato said their forthcoming legislation will focus on restoring funds lost during previous administrations: “With this new dynamic at play we will introduce legislation to restore school aid to those districts that were consistently shortchanged by the Murphy Administration during his tenure.” The lawmakers also criticized Governor Sherrill’s first proposed State Budget for not changing course from past policies.
While these developments unfold regarding education policy in New Jersey’s legislature—where Senator Anthony M. Bucco serves as Senate Republican Leader according to his official website—the debate over fair distribution of resources remains ongoing.