Brick Schools To Lose $5.3M In State Aid For 2021-22

BRICK, NJ — While Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed $44.8 billion budget contains increases in state aid to schools, the Brick Township Schools are looking at a cut of $5.3 million for the 2021-22 school year.

The cut is part of the ongoing reduction in aid to the district under S2, the law that enforced cuts in so-called adjustment aid to districts that have been deemed to not be paying their local fair share of property taxes.

The cut, which was anticipated, represents a 19.45 percent decrease in aid to the district this fiscal year. It compounds the financial pressure on the district, which has led to more than 100 positions — more than 10 percent of the staff — being cut due to what Superintendent Thomas Farrell called “the S2 funding cliff.”

“The detrimental effects of the S2 funding cliff continue,” Farrell said. “We expected to lose an additional $5.2 million for this upcoming year's budget, the largest loss yet, and today we were informed that our state aid will be reduced even further, by an additional $113,000.”

Farrell noted that Brick is among the districts facing cuts under S2 that is “under adequacy,” with a low cost-per-pupil compared to the rest of the state, and below what the state says is its local fair share.

“We spend $15,101 comparative cost per pupil (down from the prior year’s $15,257) and the 18th lowest cost-per-pupil (also down from the prior year’s 25th lowest) in the state,” Farrell said. Brick has the third-lowest comparative cost per pupil in Ocean County.

“We will budget accordingly with this new number as we move forward in the best interests of our students, staff, and community,” Farrell said.

The district now is working with the aid number to see how much it will have to cut from the 2021-22 school budget. Under S2, the district is required to increase its property tax levy by the 2 percent maximum allowed under the School Funding Reform Act that became law in 2010.

That 2 percent increase is required because the Brick schools are “under adequacy,” meaning the district is spending less per pupil than the state says is required for a thorough and efficient education.

The 2020-21 property tax levy was $113,392,095 which means the levy will increase $2.27 million for the 2021-22 general operating budget. That will leave about a $3 million gap, and that is before figuring in any increases in expenses, such as purchases to meet coronavirus safety requirements, changes in the health benefits structure, and any increases or decreases in energy costs, transportation and how much surplus and reserve money can be used to fund the budget.

The district’s general fund budget for 2020-21 is $146,326,032, and the total budget, including debt service, is $157,965,420.

Though S2 initially targeted adjustment aid, the district only received $70,797 in adjustment aid in the 2020-21 school year — meaning the 2021 cut is reducing equalization aid.

Proponents of S2 had lobbied to cut the adjustment aid in one fell swoop, saying it was a temporary measure put in place when the School Funding Reform Act took effect in 2008. Districts across the state had their aid slashed in 2010-11 by then-Gov. Chris Christie, with Brick taking a $6.8 million cut then.

The district’s state aid has fallen from $39,013,394 in the 2009-2010 school year to a proposed $21,912,897, a cut of more than $17 million, or nearly 44 percent.

S2 proponents have long said Brick was overfunded. The district committed to purchasing Chromebooks ahead of the shift to the PARCC testing, but held the line on spending for years because of the town’s demographics; nearly a third of the residents are senior citizens.

The district has been a leader in the efforts to fight S2, including through a pair of lawsuits against the state Department of Education. One sought release of the algorithm the state uses to determine the local fair share figures, which say how capable a district is of paying for its public schools, and a second one over the distribution of the aid. The state released the algorithm but an expert has to be hired to determine how the algorithm is applied.

“We have exhausted any and all mechanisms that we can control at this point and appealed to the state for help,” Farrell said. “We have already closed then repurposed two elementary schools to PreK; utilized the 2 percent mandated tax levy cap to the best extent possible; cut 100-plus jobs over three years; realized cost savings by creating a wellness center and health care partnership becoming self-insured. and lastly initiating a comprehensive feasibility study and strategic plan.”

“(Brick Public Schools) should be looked at as the model in working through this S2 funding cliff challenge,” he said.

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