Manalapan Schools Could Lose $12.9 Million In State Aid

MANALAPAN, NJ — The Manalapan-Englishtown regional school district stands to lose an incredible $12.9 million in state aid over the next seven years if a new school funding formula currently being battled out in Trenton goes through.

The issue of how to fund New Jersey schools is tied up in the ongoing budget battle between Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Legislature, a stalemate that is bringing New Jersey closer to a July 1 state shutdown with each passing day.

It's hardly just Manalapan: Middletown, Hazlet, Freehold, Toms River, Brick and more than 100 suburban and rural towns across the state would lose millions in a school funding bill proposed by state Senate President Stephen Sweeney. Gov. Phil Murphy said he wouldn't sign the bill because it does not have enough new revenue sources.

Hazlet would lose $3.3 million in state aid over the same time period. Middletown would lose $5.5 million. But Manalapan-Englishtown would be hit the hardest, with $12.9 million potentially on the table in cuts.

"Since the state budget has not been finalized, and Sweeney's proposed formula is not yet agreed to by the governor, these numbers can be changed," said Dr. John Marciante, the superintendent of Manalapan-Englishtown Regional. "That being said, unless the current approved formula is updated or revised by the state, if the bill passes and is signed by the governor, $12.9 million will be cut from our aid over the next seven-year period."

Middletown is equally upset.

"Over the next seven years Middletown's state school aid would be reduced by $5,539,227. This represents 30% of our current state funding," said Amy Gallagher, Middletown school district's business administrator.

In fact, the superintendents of Hazlet and Middletown, along with 35 other school districts, attended an emergency meeting Tuesday, where they voiced their strong objections to Sweeney's bill.

Manalapan-Englishtown did not attend Tuesday's meeting.

Sweeney's bill would cut so-called "adjustment aid" to more than 100 districts in order to push more aid to what he says are severely underfunded school districts.

Gov. Murphy said he won't agree to Sweeney's school funding formula until there are recurring revenue streams in the budget, which would likely come in the form of tax increases. With each passing day, the back-and-forth is sending New Jersey closer to a stalemate over the budget and quite possibly a government shutdown on July 1.

One thing that all sides — including Gov. Murphy and state legislators — seem to agree on is that New Jersey's school funding formula needs to be revised. A key contention is that the existing formula used to determine state education funding is severely flawed, and has been for quite some time. Components such as wealth and income are not calculated fairly; the formula fails to take into consideration PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes, paid by developers to towns instead of property taxes); and more than 30 towns have not had property revaluations — a key facet in determining need — in more than 25 years.