School funding in NJ is BULLSHIT

School funding is a pet peeve for me. Actually, that's a lie. It pisses me off... so, so much. For decades, a system has been put into place where most districts get their 'fair share' of state to help out their district operae without getting crushed by taxes. Sounds simple, but there are 600 districts, and while we should just divide the pot of money by 600, that has never ever happened. What went from a little bit extra for the 'underserved' communities turned into a monster, leaving most towns in pure fiscal hell. The current funding formula (S-2) has become so FUBAR that some districts are literally selling schools, buses, and other property; privatizing a myriad of services (cafeteria, bussing, etc.); and of course cutting numerous teaching and administrative positions. While the numbers seem positive (392 districts are getting an 'increase'), you have 177 districts that are taking not just a hit, but a KO punch.

That being said, other districts, including Newark, Camden, Patterson, Bridgeton, Salem City, Elizabeth, Irvington, and others are now seeing more state aid ever than before. Ya know what happens when districts get millions and millions of extra cash? PROBLEMS. Lots and lots of problems. I'll go there in a bit.

While Governor Murphy (whom I like to call "King Phillip") said this was the first time every district was funded the way it was suppose to be, it's far from it. District's where Robin Hood (King Phillip) came in and robbed / clawed back prior monies could only do so much in order to recover. Aid adjustments were placed in stone. For this year only, districts were allowed to go over the 2% property cap to 9.9% without a vote (some districts went as high as 22% and STILL made all of the cuts) to try to establish normalcy. Let's dive deeper.

For the first time ever, districts will receive complete funding under SFRA, ensuring each district’s "adequacy budget"—the calculated amount needed for a "thorough and efficient" education—is now fully matched with state aid. This means every school will get its intended share, based on weighted enrollment that factors in grade level, special needs, poverty, and English-language learners. This all looks good on paper, but you know what else does? Communism. Now, let's dig deeper: state aid changes are now capped, with increases of 6% per category and decreased no more than -3%. This applies to key grant types—equalization, transportation, special ed, and security aid, with the hope of helping districts plan with greater financial predictability and smooth out aid fluctuations. This is the furthest from what will actually happen; this will cause even more financial uncertainty, as aid rates will now focus on multi-year averages. I think this actually has good intentions, but it will produce dismal results.

Now let's add more bullshit since there's a heaping pile of it: special education funding. While special education funding should be strictly state-wide, King Phillip now creates a 'special education task force' to help local districts... just what we need...MORE committee bullshit. No more census-based, it's strictly enrollment count. I can't tell you how many special education students are getting screwed over this.

Then of course there is the grant bonanza. This is merely King Phillip covering his tracks and trying to offset problems for the 2025 election season. These grants could cover up to 45% (you read it right... 45-freaking-percent!!) of the offset. Where is that money coming from??? Those money trees he's been growing for the past 8 years. Oh, let's not forget Pre-K expansion grants of $42 million and a new $10 million 'expansion fund' (nobody knows what that means yet).

While the full rollout of SFRA in FY 2025 tries to show itself making a step forward in pursuit of equitable education finance, it does anything but that. Once again, districts who do their job and balance budgets get the shaft and lose what they plan for to the so-called 'underserved' districts getting more and more state aid, which I will guarantee you, will do absolutely nothing for students. It will pay for balloons, catering for BOE members, dry cleaning, 1st-class airfare, international conferences, open bars, and everything you can possibly think of that you can't spend with tax monies. I'm sick to my stomach thinking how a district having to cut multiple teachers so another district can buy $225,000.00 worth of balloons (yes, that happened). You also had a school district contemplate filing for bankruptcy due to this funding formula.

So, let's recap. State now requires full-day kindergarten and Pre-K, 'underserved' districts get hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to toss into a black hole which will produce nothing (like it has for the past 50 years), and districts who know how to budget are selling their own schools, cutting football & Special Olympics, laid off staff, and are raising taxes by double-digits to scrape by. Hang in; we will only have this until July 2026. Help is on the way.