Eatontown, Long Branch Get Major Increase In Special Edu. Funding

EATONTOWN, NJ — Eatontown, Long Branch and West Long Branch schools earned $1.5 million in special education aid. The state funding comes from the New Jersey 11th Legislative District's victory in the #EveryKidCounts campaign this summer.

Eatontown schools will receive $275,000 next year (a 178.2 percent increase), Long Branch schools earned $600,000 (43.9 percent increase) and West Long Branch schools netted $75,000 (a 28.2 percent increase).

Monmouth Regional also increased funding by 52.9 percent, bringing its total to $350,000. Shore Regional High School will receive nearly $250,000, a 65.9 percent increase. Monmouth County school districts received nearly $10 million.

The additional state funding will help with special education costs in Monmouth County schools, reducing the burden on local taxpayers. The three 11th District legislators credited the win to hundreds of Monmouth County residents who signed the #EveryKidCounts petition.

“These millions of dollars represent hope for a lot of people, from teachers to parents to taxpayers,” said State Senator Vin Gopal, who represents the 11th District with Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling and Assemblywoman Joann Downey. “Over the past ten years, extraordinary special education aid has been shrinking, putting an enormous strain on local districts to pay for expensive special education programs. With this funding, we can finally see real relief delivered to our struggling schools.”

Schools can qualify for the grant if they spend more than a certain amount on educating a student with special needs. A public school becomes eligible if it spends more than $40,000 on a single student's education — about twice the statewide average — and can theoretically qualify for up to 90 percent reimbursement of its costs.

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