East Brunswick Schools To Gain 5M In State Aid

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Last week Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled his proposed $44.8 billion spending plan.

The new budget contains increases in state aid to many schools. East Brunswick School District is looking at a increase of $5,307,103 for the 2021-22 school year.

Gov. Phil Murphy's administration released a proposed $18.1 billion pre-K-through-12 state school aid funding plan for the 2021-22 school year. Nearly 200 school districts would have a decrease under his school funding plan, while more than 300 would gain.

Many districts are facing cuts as 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.

On the whole, statewide aid would increase 6.6 percent over the 2020-21 school year under a plan that requires approval from the state Legislature. That number would be larger than the 3.8 percent increase Murphy proposed last year.

East Brunswick is among those districts that will see an increase in school aid. It will receive $25,892,000 in state aid, up from the $20,584,897 it received last year.

The state aid was part of Murphy's 2021-22 budget proposal, which was released Tuesday. Read more: No New Tax Increases, Fees For NJ Amid COVID, Gov. Murphy Says

Here's how much Middlesex County schools are getting in state aid for 2021-22:

• Carteret Boro $38,325,848
• Cranbury Twp $776,390
• Dunellen Boro $11,215,446
• East Brunswick Twp $25,892,000
• Edison Twp $35,839,368
• Highland Park Boro $4,423,108
• Jamesburg Boro $8,046,921
• Metuchen Boro $2,038,786
• Middlesex Boro $11,753,118
• Middlesex Co Vocational $15,949,195
• Milltown Boro $2,591,636
• Monroe Twp $7,873,787
• New Brunswick City $159,343,732
• North Brunswick Twp $33,066,959
• Old Bridge Twp $32,229,739
• Perth Amboy City $185,408,302
• Piscataway Twp $21,647,585
• Sayreville Boro $33,221,091
• South Amboy City $6,627,860
• South Brunswick Twp $21,488,857
• South Plainfield Boro $8,456,628
• South River Boro $18,980,549
• Spotswood $6,304,750
• Woodbridge Twp $63,082,983

Statewide, the proposal calls for $578 million in additional K-12 school aid and nearly $50 million in additional preschool funding. School districts will be able to use the state funding in conjunction with federal aid to address COVID-19-related learning loss, stand up mental health programs, train educators, and remediate buildings, among other uses, according to the administration.

The 2021-22 budget proposal plans to continue the seven-year phase-in to fully fund New Jersey's school funding formula. By adding $578 million in K-12 formula aid, the Murphy administration proposes to make the full scheduled phase-in for the upcoming school year and make up for the pause in the phase-in from last year's budget.

The proposal also includes $50 million in stabilization aid to help districts adjust to the phase-in of the school funding formula and an additional $25 million for Extraordinary Special Education aid.

"After years of chronic underfunding of our classrooms, we're getting back where we need to be," Murphy said. "This is good for our students, this is good for our educators, this is good for our district and school leaders, and this is good for our educational communities."

Thank you for reading. Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com

Get breaking news alerts on your phone with our app. Download here. Sign up to get Patch emails so you don't miss out on local and statewide news.