Passaic County Tech's $500 tuition cut is not enough, say sending districts

A $500-per-student tuition cut from the Passaic County Technical Institute is giving sending districts some relief this school year.

A group of schools superintendents is nonetheless pushing Passaic County officials to increase an annual contribution to the vocational high school in Wayne that has remained unchanged for more than 15 years. Paul Amoroso, the Pompton Lakes superintendent, said the tuition cut from school officials is appreciated but further change is needed in the funding formula for the county's vocational district.

"It’s a step in the right direction, but the county tax levy contribution has not increased since 2006, when the school had only 2,500 students," said Bracken Healy, the superintendent at Passaic Valley Regional High School.

The county technical high school has nearly 4,500 students and takes in about $48 million in annual tuition, records show. For 2023-24, tuition has been set at $10,864 per student for sending districts, their superintendents said. The drop comes from an $11,364 rate set ahead of the 2020-21 school year as a reduction from a long-standing rate of $11,614.

Historically, the largest sending district is Paterson.

Both cuts came as Passaic County Technical Institute benefited from significant year-to-year increases in state education aid. From the 2021 to 2022 fiscal years, base state education aid jumped from $32 million to nearly $43 million for the vocational district, Department of Education records show. Fiscal year 2024's aid is expected to be almost $67 million, up roughly $9.5 million from the 2023 fiscal year, to account for the school's growth.

This is while some sending districts in Passaic County are seeing their aid plummet due to enrollment drops. West Milford schools are due a 17.65% cut for the 2024 fiscal year, state records show. Lakeland Regional High School's cut is more than 27%.

Both have recorded a drop in their enrollment.

New Jersey statute requires local school boards to cover tuition and transportation costs of any resident student admitted to the vocational school of the county in which the school district is. Sending districts are off the hook, however, if they offer the same program as the county vocational school where the student has been admitted. Officials at local school districts in Passaic County have looked to rebuild select vocational programs. Still, Passaic County Tech's recent expansions, including a new STEM academy and biotechnical program, have provided more options for students on the college track.

County budget contributions relative to sending district tuition costs vary widely throughout New Jersey. During the 2020-21 school year Hudson County's government spent about 70 times the total tuition outlay to support the vocational school district, Department of Education records show. In Middlesex County, on the other hand, the combined tuition expense for sending districts was more than 7.5 times the county's contribution.

Passaic County's $7 million contribution that year amounted to roughly $1,690 per student, records show. The spending was on par with Middlesex County's $1,657 per-student outlay. Essex County contributed about $2,321 per student. Morris County paid $4,368, Bergen $13,317 and Somerset $22,709.

Data from its most recently available annual financial report shows the Passaic County vocational school district took in more than $48 million in tuition in 2020 and 2021. A similar total is expected this year as enrollment continues to grow at the county school. School officials have projected an increase of about 200 students a year for the next four years as the new biotechnical program gets underway.

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In June, the Pompton Lakes school board adopted a resolution calling for Passaic County government to increase its contribution. The change should "have county school districts and the Passaic County Board of County Commissioners provide an equal amount of funding," the resolution read. Board members in West Milford adopted a similar resolution in May after debating the county's contribution and the lack of a state standard.

Lynda Van Dyk, a West Milford board member, said Passaic County Tech is an excellent school but the funding system is tilted.

"It's an unfair funding package," she said. "We should be fighting, but we shouldn't be fighting alone. We need taxpayers."

With more funding from the county and less from districts, the county school's costs could be distributed more equally among county residents. A lower county contribution and higher tuition puts the onus on local taxpayers to pay for their community's students.

Any additional contribution from the county to offset enrollment could open up room in district budgets to hire teachers or invest in infrastructure, said Amoroso, the Pompton Lakes schools chief. It could also trigger a variety of tax implications for residents, including a county tax increase, local school tax decreases or no noticeable changes at all.

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County officials have kept taxes flat for several years while the government generates year-to-year surpluses thanks in part to COVID-related rescue plans. Many county school districts meanwhile have started to normalize annual increases that abut the state's 2% cap limitations.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: PCTI tuition cut is not enough, say sending districts