Garden State Times

Senate Republican Leader Anthony M. Bucco and Senate Republican Budget Officer Declan O'Scanlon have announced their plan to introduce a bill aimed at restoring over $200 million in school aid cuts proposed by Governor Murphy's administration. Sen. Bucco expressed his concerns about the impact of these cuts, stating, "Schools that find themselves on the losing end of New Jersey's broken school funding formula are struggling to make ends meet. Restoring these cuts are a necessary step towards ensuring that educators have the resources to combat learning loss and provide children with the education they so rightfully deserve."

Sen. O'Scanlon criticized the administration for ignoring Republican proposals to amend the funding formula, stating, "Unnecessarily large cuts are digging into certain school districts and risk taking away valuable opportunities for young children." He also pointed out the administration's spending on projects like a French Arts Museum, saying, "While certain schools have struggled to survive, the Murphy administration has wasted tens of millions of dollars... This legislation would repurpose unexpended appropriations made in prior fiscal years to responsibly restore the proposed school aid cuts to protect every child’s education."

The bill introduced by the senators would amend the annual appropriations act to fully restore proposed school funding cuts for certain school districts in FY 2025. School districts that received supplemental "hold harmless" aid last year to ameliorate S-2 cuts would receive that amount again.

For more information on the bill and the full list of amended appropriations, interested parties can access the document online. Those who wish to speak with Senators Bucco and O'Scanlon can contact Chris Sivel, SRO Deputy Director of Communications at [email protected].