Somerset Hills, Bedminster Schools Could See State Aid Increase

BERNARDSVILLE/BEDMINSTER, NJ — Somerset Hills Regional and Bedminster schools can expect to see an increase in their state aid for the 2019-20 school year.

Gov. Phil Murphy's administration this week released the proposed state aid numbers for every school district in the 2019-20 school year.

Bedminster Township is expected to see an 6.75 percent increase in state aid. This means the district would receive a total of $822,289 or $51,960 more in state aid.

"We are pleased that the State has recognized and addressed our need for additional state aid," Bedminster Superintendent Jennifer Giordano said. "These additional funds will allow us to continue to offer a continuous delivery of instructional programming for our FY20 budget. However, we continue to emphasize the need for the state to fully fund the school formula."

Somerset Hills Regional is expected to see an 12.04 percent increase in state aid. This means the district would receive a total of $1,455,450 or $156,385 more in state aid. This is the second highest in Somerset County.

Bound Brook received the highest increase in aid in the county with 12.41 percent.

Hillsborough Township received the least with a decrease of 2.11 percent. It was also the only Somerset County school district to get a decrease.

Overall, state aid would increase 2.43 over the 2018-19 school year under a plan that requires approval from the state Legislature. That number would be smaller than the 3.5 percent increase Murphy originally proposed last year, but that original plan had no state aid cuts for any district.

Here is a list of nearby Somerset County districts to compare. They are listed from the highest amount of aid to least. (The first number is the percentage decrease or increase in aid; the second is the amount of aid; the third is the loss or gain in aid dollars):

1. Bound Brook Boro, Somerset 12.41% $15,507,546 $1,711,628
2. Somerset Hills Regional, Somerset 12.04% $1,455,450 $156,385
3. Bernards Twp, Somerset 11.23% $4,666,622 $470,965
4. Manville Boro, Somerset 10.29% $10,295,422 $960,390
5. Warren Twp, Somerset 10.20% $1,658,159 $153,445
6. Watchung Hills Regional, Somerset 9.62% $1,589,377 $139,510
7. Montgomery Twp, Somerset 9.35% $4,908,612 $419,656
8. Green Brook Twp, Somerset 8.27% $1,222,581 $93,368
9. Watchung Boro, Somerset 8.20% $592,997 $44,961
10. Bedminster Twp, Somerset 6.75% $822,289 $51,960
11. Bridgewater-Raritan Reg, Somerset 3.94% $10,431,111 $395,158
12. South Bound Brook, Somerset 1.47% $3,681,063 $53,383
13. Franklin Twp, Somerset 0.47% $14,031,573 $65,234
14. Hillsborough Twp, Somerset -2.11% $24,399,824 -$526,434

Click here to view the full state-wide list.

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