Morris, Sussex school funding: Who wins, who loses as NJ promises $832M boost to districts

Sussex and Morris county school districts fared well overall in the state's latest school spending plan, a reversal after years of cuts to suburban and rural schools in recent years. But some districts still complained of "absurd" decreases to their funding.

Both counties saw overall increases in the 2024 state aid figures released by the Department of Education Thursday. The 16% increase to Morris schools is the second-largest jump among any county in New Jersey, while Sussex's 2.2% bump is in stark contrast to the 7.4% decrease it experienced last year.

Ten of the 25 Sussex County school districts received more in state aid under Gov. Phil Murphy's new plan, exactly twice the number in the budget released last year. Only two saw their aid rise in 2021, and just one in 2020.

Why districts got a boost

The final budget will be determined by negotiations between Murphy and state legislators. But the governor's plan calls for "an historic increase" of $832 million in additional funding for K-12 public schools statewide, part of Murphy's seven-year plan to boost funding for local districts.

Even as overall spending has risen in recent years, many schools in more affluent or rural areas have seen a decline − partly due to falling enrollments but also to fix what Democrats have called a long-time imbalance in how money was divided. Budget analysts and the governor's office said that reversed this year in large part due to high inflation, which forced the state to help districts keep up with rising costs.

Top gains and losses in Sussex and Morris

Sandyston-Walpack leads the way in Sussex with a 32.3% increase in aid, the 15th highest jump in the state. In Morris County, Boonton and Morris Hills also landed in the top 15 statewide with increases of about 33% each. In total, Morris County saw nine districts receive at least a 20% boost in state funding.

Hopatcong will see the largest cut in Sussex County for the third consecutive year, losing more than $1 million, or about 28% of its state aid. In Morris County, Jefferson's 23% aid loss is by far the largest in the county.

What districts are saying

Despite the overall increase, several districts still face difficult decisions after losing significant amounts under the governor's plan.

Art DiBenedetto, Hopatcong's interim superintendent, called the latest cuts to his district "absurd" in an interview Friday. The reduction, he said, makes it nearly impossible to develop an adequate and thorough school budget.

"I am at a loss to figure out how to deal with that," DiBenedetto said. "I've complained to everybody − it doesn't do any good. Nobody listens."

Hopatcong has lost roughly 90% of its funding over the past several years, according to DiBenedetto − a loss, he said, that far exceeds a student enrollment drop of about 45% over the same period. The district has been forced to lay off teachers and administrators, and the superintendent is finding it difficult to navigate a way forward.

"It's a very ugly, ugly circumstance," he said. "I'm up against the wall, and I have no other solution."

Kittatinny Regional superintendent Craig Hutcheson faces a similar problem in his district, which has seen nearly 60% of its aid cut in the past decade following a 31% enrollment decline. He suggested the state reconsider the factors it uses to determine aid under the School Funding Reform Act, enacted in 2008 and adjusted by Murphy in 2018.

"I don’t think it’s a fair funding formula for districts that are losing money," Hutcheson said. "I want more money per student for our taxpayers who take care of 80% of our budget. That doesn’t seem right."

Hopatcong had 1,397 students across four schools in 2021-22, while Kittatinny's enrollment was 792, according to DOE data.

Local lawmakers criticize plan

Sen. Steve Oroho and Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths, all Republicans in the 24th legislative district, denounced Murphy's latest spending plan in a statement Thursday. The trio acknowledged that their district includes a fair number of "winners" compared to years past, but schools in the area have still experienced "tens of millions" of dollars in net loss under the current formula, they said.

"It's extremely concerning that more than half the school districts we represent are losing state aid this year under Governor Murphy's budget proposal, even as overall spending on education is set to increase by nearly $1 billion," Oroho said.

Here's a look at the Sussex and Morris districts set to see the biggest increases and decreases in school funding:

Morris

Increases:

1. Boonton, 33.2% ($969,027)

2. Morris Hills, 32.9% ($3 million)

3. Mount Olive, 29% ($7.8 million)

4. Butler, 27.6% ($731,967)

5. Wharton, 27.2% ($1.7 million)

Decreases:

1. Jefferson, -23% (-$1.5 million)

2. Washington Township, -11.3% (-$467,500)

3. Randolph, -8.2% (-$622,305)

4. Roxbury, -7.3% (-$686,498)

5. West Morris, -1.9% (-$72,131)

Sussex

Increases:

1. Sandyston-Walpack, 32.3% ($107,757)

2. Newton, 21.3% ($2.3 million)

3. Montague, 16.4% ($300,968)

4. Sparta, 14% ($705,777)

5. Lenape Valley, 12.6% ($595,206)

Decreases:

1. Hopatcong, -28.4% (-$1,080,082)

2. Kittatinny, -23.6% (-$627,231)

3. Green, -22.5% (-$533,735)

4. Stillwater, -22.2% (-$147,194)

5. Frankford, -12.4% (-$127,596)

https://infogram.com/2024-proposed-state-aid-1hzj4o37ov0xo4p

Staff writer Mary Ann Koruth contributed to this article.

Kyle Morel is a local reporter covering Morris and Sussex counties.

Email: kmorel@njherald.com; Twitter: @KMorelNJH

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Morris Sussex NJ state school aid: Local district funding