Moorestown Schools To See $484K Increase In State Aid

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy's proposed $44.8 billion budget contains increases in state aid to many schools. The Moorestown Public School District is looking at an increase of $484,264 for the 2021-22 school year.

The Murphy Administration released a proposed $18.1 billion pre-K-through-12 state school aid funding plan on Thursday 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, though, 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.

Moorestown is one of those districts that will see an increase. It will receive $4,368,146 in state aid, up from the $3,88,882 it received last year. It's a 12.47 percent increase for the district, which is in a hybrid model due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is looking at ways to increase in-person learning.

The Moorestown Public School District is made up of seven schools. As of the Feb. 16, 2021 meeting, the district listed enrollment at 3,810 students, compared to 3,979 last year at this time.

The Board of Education will likely discuss how state aid will be applied to the district when budget discussions begin.

Last year, the district saw a decrease in state aid that was initially expected due to the coronavirus pandemic, saw the administration used additional money from its surplus to make up the difference. Read more here: Moorestown School Board Adjusts Budget After State Aid Reduction

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

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."