In April 2023, the NJ legislature almost unanimously passed and Phil Murphy quickly signed a bill that would give $102 million to districts who had just lost Adjustment Aid in the 2023-24 school year. The $102,991,919 is equivalent to 66% of the money these districts were originally slated to lose, and was given without any sensitivity to a district being above or below Adequacy, strong in tax base or weak in tax base.
Many of the school districts that you're seeing here today that are getting additional money have seen an increase in their ratable base - a large increase in their ratable base. - and some of them have seen a decrease in their overall enrollment. Part of the problem is the cap. We're going to need to look at that in the future. because they [ie, aid losing districts] can't take advantage of the additional ratable base... this is a one time extraordinary appropriation." Sen. Sarlo also challenged Sen. O'Scanlon for lamenting the budgetary impact of state aid cuts, while opposing tax cap liberalization.
See 23:00 mark)
In any case, this is a look at the aid restorations, in terms of how overaided the recipient districts are and how much districts are getting per student.
Of the $102,991,919, just four districts, Jersey City, Toms River, Asbury Park, and Freehold Regional are getting half, with Jersey City's $33,701,019 being by far the biggest appropriation.
The $102 million averages out to $385 per student, with a MASSIVE variation in what districts are getting per student. In dollars per student, the following districts are getting the most:
Mantoloking, whose students attend Point Pleasant Beach through a Send-Receive relationship, is getting $168,202 for only eight students, or $21,025 per student!Most of the money is not going to wealthy districts, but some of it is ending up in districts that are so rich that they have no need for state aid at all. Mantoloking, whose Local Fair Share is $15 million for those eight students, or $1.9 million per student.
- Margate City has $136,609 in Local Fair Share per student.
- Brigantine City has $105,627 per student.
- Ventnor City has $41,813 per student.
- Cape May City has $169,157 per student.
- Lower Cape May Regional has $30,158 per student.
- North Wildwood City has $167,725 per student.
- Sea Isle City has $687,318 per student.
"Wildwood is unique, some of your Shore communities are unique because there large ratable base with people with Shore homes but your student body is from a smaller population and from a different demographic base, " which I appreciated because it shows that Sarlo understands that a district with poor students doesn't necessarily have a poor tax base, and Shore districts frequently have poor students and enormous tax bases. (See "Help for the Needless: NJ's Richest Districts and Their State Aid")
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- New Jersey's 2022-23 State Aid
- 2021-22 Brings $1.7 Billion to Education, More State Aid Equity
- 2020-21 State Aid Closer to Equality
- 2019-20 State Aid Gets Fairer, but the Deficit Grows
- 2018-19 Disparities Narrow, but Remain Stark
- Updated State Aid Disparities for 2017-18