HACKETTSTOWN – Gov. Phil Murphy has released revised state aid figures, saying they will overall remain steady from fiscal year 2020 despite the “historic financial challenges New Jersey is facing due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
But a number of districts – nearly 400 of them – will get less money than they expected when Murphy first offered his school funding plan in February.
Indeed, more than 190 school districts will see cuts from last year’s funding, and they may need tax increases to make up the differences
Hackettstown received $7,037,374 in state funds in 2019-2020. Initially the district was slated to receive $8,211,182 this year which was cut to $7,419,635 in July. That represents a $382,261 or 5.4 percent increase.
In his revised budget proposal, Murphy announced that funding for school districts will keep the state on track to fully fund public schools. Additionally, the revised budget proposal includes almost $68 million in new funds over FY2020 for preschools in New Jersey.
Murphy also announced $100 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) funding to ensure schools can reopen safely.
You can see the complete state list in our previous coverage.
This post contains reporting by Tom Davis.
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