Will NJ schools rescue package be enough to avert layoffs, sports and program cuts?

A pared down funding bill that could provide some relief to New Jersey schools passed through the state Senate Monday, sending hope to some school administrators faced with massive layoffs and cuts to programs in September.

Bill S-3081/A-4161 was approved by both houses of the state Legislature and brings $44.7 million in relief to schools facing declines in state aid for the 2024-25 school year. The bill was approved by the full Senate Monday in a 24-9 vote.

The Assembly vote on the bill, co-sponsored by District 16 Assembly members Roy Freiman and Mitchelle Drulis, was approved April 15 by a 52-20 vote.

Monday's final bill was a whittled down version of the earlier $71.4 million spending proposal passed by the Assembly.

The legislation now heads to Gov. Phil Murphy to be signed into law.

The legislation was sponsored by Senator Andrew Zwicker (D-Middlesex/Mercer/Somerset/Hunterdon) and Senator Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) and creates a one-time Stabilized School Budget Aid Grant Program in the state Department of Education. The program will provide funding to eligible school districts that apply to the program after verifying a reduction in state aid.

"Over 140 districts are experiencing drastic state aid reductions that would require them to make rash cuts to student programs and jobs," Zwicker said. "Our public schools are the best in the nation. We cannot let them fall into disarray by asking districts to scale back spending year after year. This program is a stopgap that will provide relief to districts for the upcoming school year as we continue to work to find a stable long-term school funding solution."

The bill provides aid grants to eligible school districts of up to 45% of the district’s state school aid reductions for the 2024-2025 school year. Eligible districts would include districts proposed to see a state aid reduction in fiscal year 2025.

"The partial restoration of aid to eligible schools will provide districts some cushion as we continue our transition under the school funding reform act known as S-2," said Gopal. "We have heard testimony from teachers, students, and parents of these cuts' devastating impact on their districts for months. This move will give additional support and sustain our standard of delivering high-quality public education."

More: Central Jersey’s winners and losers in 2024-25 NJ public school funding

The bill will additionally allow districts to have tax cap flexibility to restore funding loss from the past four years under S-2. The adjusted tax levy would be no more than the difference between a school district’s state aid for the 2024-2025 school year as compared to the 2020-2021 school year.

For schools considering eliminating sports, clubs and teaching jobs, the aid package is too small, Sen. Declan O'Scanlon Jr. told the state Senate on Monday morning. Just among some Central Jersey schools, the state cut $2.7 million in aid to Hillsborough schools, $1.4 million to South Brunswick schools, $2.5 million to Old Bridge schools, and $1.32 million to East Brunswick schools this year. The biggest cut in the area occurred in South Plainfield which saw a loss of nearly 3.6 million.

In all, 140 New Jersey school districts had cuts to their state aid.

Old Bridge Superintendent David Cittadino said that while it is "somewhat relieving to see Trenton addressing the broken funding formula, it's still disheartening."

"It's disheartening that we're continually faced with the difficult task of considering job cuts for dedicated educators." Cittadino said. "It's disheartening that for seven years we've been contemplating the dismantling of programs that have positively impacted countless children and gained national recognition. It's disheartening that school boards are forced into a difficult situation, torn between supporting students and taxpayers, when the real issue lies between Trenton and municipalities. Hopefully, this serves as a wake-up call to address the flaws in the school funding formula. In Old Bridge, we're fortunate to have passionate individuals committed to maintaining our comprehensive, student-centered school district."

But for some superintendents, the news is more than welcome. South Brunswick Schools Superintendent Scott Feder said he is "elated."

"First, is a huge thank you to Senator Zwicker and Assemblyman Freiman and Assemblywoman Drulis," Feder said. "They were true champions to see the need and take action. They have been able to impact S2 districts in a way nothing has since 2017. For so many districts they have created light in what was darkness."

For South Brunswick, Feder said the aid package "provides district immediate financial stability" when signed by Gov. Phil Murphy and the DOE creates the regulations.

"It will allow us to save jobs and not only stabilize our education, but for the first time in five years, begin to really dive into what is possible for our students and community," Feder said. "That has been on the back burner as we have been treading water just to stay afloat. The SBSD will see a new dawn, one with vibrant educational opportunities and the stability returned after being stripped from our district by the very broken New Jersey school funding formula. Next is ensuring everything happens in the immediate, so we can begin the work ahead."

More: Bill to help school districts with state aid cuts passes state Assembly

School districts cannot easily make up the difference by raising taxes, because of a state-mandated 2% cap on annual tax levy increases.

O'Scanlon, who represents towns in northern Monmouth County, described the bill as a "Band-Aid."

"It refunds, or gives back, pennies on the dollar to these districts that have lost millions and millions of dollars," he told the Senate. "It provides for massive tax increases on the beleaguered… property taxpayers in many of these districts. It is a solution that is outrageously flawed to those taxpayers."

Under the bill, school districts that have had aid cut may exceed the 2% cap on their annual tax levy increases for the 2024-25 school year. The bill allows these schools to raise local taxes by the amount of state aid that was cut over the past four years, but by no more than 9.9% of the local tax levy.

Under typical circumstances, the tax levy cap can only be surpassed with approval from local voters.

The bill also provides aid grants to recover much as 45% of the value of the district's state aid reduction, down from 66% in earlier versions of the bill.

Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, who represents towns in the central part of the state, including his hometown of Jackson, said the problem is not one year of state aid cuts, but seven years of cumulative declines.

Lawmakers also passed a bill that extends the deadline for schools to submit their 2024-25 school budgets. That measure gives the Legislature more time to propose other remedies, Sauickie said. The assemblyman has proposed another bill that would allow school districts to seek loans from the state in order to balance their budgets.

email: aoglesby@gannettnj.com

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 15 years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.

email: cmakin@gannettnj.com

Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ lawmakers pass rescue plan for schools, but is it enough?