Garden State Times

Senator Declan O’Scanlon from Monmouth County has criticized the Murphy administration for its handling of school funding reform. This comes after news that Middletown Township School District may close some schools due to state funding cuts.

“I’ve been fighting against these cuts and predicting this outcome for years,” said O’Scanlon. He attributes the blame to the Murphy administration and the Democrats in control of the legislature, arguing that the current school funding formula is outdated. “The school funding formula was outdated ten years ago. We could have reformed it, prevented these cuts, made the whole system more fair and slashed our structural deficit at the same time.”

Middletown Township School District has lost $3.5 million over several years due to S2 legislation. The district was expected to receive an additional $2.9 million this year but will only get $839,000 because of a proposed 6% cap on aid increases by Governor Murphy.

“For years these districts received multimillion dollar cuts and there was no cap on how much they lost,” O’Scanlon stated. He calls on the legislature to reject this cap for schools that have faced cuts in recent years.

O’Scanlon also criticizes what he sees as misallocation of funds, pointing out spending on non-essential projects while schools face financial challenges. “Spending money on cricket fields and lavish sports stadiums in the districts of the powerful while decimating our schools is a slap in the face to every taxpayer,” he said.

The senator vows continued advocacy for affected school districts like Middletown, urging colleagues to consider Republican proposals for significant reform.