Hillsborough Schools May Still Lose $310K Under New State Funding Deal (2024)

Schools

Despite the new deal, Hillsborough continues to be the only school district in Somerset County to lose state aid.

Posted Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 12:22 pm ET|Updated Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 5:12 pm ET

The deal proposes restoring 66 percent of the funding that was set to be cut to 150 schools in the state. For Hillsborough, that means $602,650 less to be cut. However, even under the deal, the township school district will still lose $310,453 in state aid.

Hillsborough is the only school district in Somerset County to lose state aid.

"While I am cautiously optimistic and awaiting the formal notification of the revised aide to the school district, I do appreciate everyone who has listened to me and has advocated for such a change. Advocacy works!" said Hillsborough Township School Superintendent Michael Volpe to Patch. "While this helps us in this budget cycle, I still have concerns over the application of S2 and the fact that Hillsborough is the only school district in the county to still be losing money. A systemic, long-term fix is needed in order to best serve the students of Hillsborough."

Hillsborough is one of the school districts in the state that continues to lose state aid on a yearly basis under the S2 funding formula. Last year, the district lost $1.4 million in aid. Read More: Hillsborough Struggles To Balance School Budget After Cut In State Aid

The deal would take effect for Gov. Phil Murphy's proposed 2023-24 budget, said Gopal, who chairs the state Senate Education Committee.

According to a statement released by Murphy's office late Friday, the districts seeing reductions in state funding under S2 will be able to request up to 66 percent of the difference between the aid they received for 2022-23 and the aid amounts proposed for 2023-24. Read More: $102M Deal Set To Ease NJ School Funding Cuts, Gopal, Murphy Say

"All eligible districts that submit a request to the Commissioner of Education will receive this additional funding, and must include a written plan indicating how they intend to fund operations in future years when this aid is no longer available," the statement said.

The agreement is spelled out in bill S-3732, which is slated for introduction and a vote Monday starting with the Senate Budget and Appropriations committee. (See the full bill below)

"Once this money is actually allocated, I will be speaking with my Business office and the Board of Education as to any updated plans. This will not change our tentative budget much if at all, but certainly helps give us some breathing room and plan for contingencies," said Volpe.

Volpe presented its proposed school budget for the 2023-24 school year at the March 13 Board of Education meeting. The budget did not cut any staff or programs and is decreasing taxes. Read More: Tax Decrease, No Staff Cuts Proposed In Hillsborough School Budget

The total amount of the proposed budget for 2023-24 amounts to $139,869,347. This is an increase of $2,391,283 from the 2022-23 budget.

For an average homeowner in Hillsborough with a home assessed at $496,597, they would see a tax decrease of $346 per year or $29 per month.

For an average homeowner in Millstone with a home assessed at $373,556, they would see a tax decrease of $627 per year or $52 per month.

Volpe noted at the March 13 meeting that he couldn't promise to deliver a similar budget in the future if the district continues to lose state funding.

"I can't promise that every year if this is the direction we keep going in... If we keep going in a direction where we are going to be continuously losing state funding that something is going to have to give eventually," Volpe said.

Assemblyman Roy Freiman from the 16th legislative district has been an advocate for his hometown of Hillsborough.

"We are laser focused on continuing to uplift our K-12 public schools and ensure families who live in New Jersey have access to the best public education available. My family has been proud to be a part of the Hillsborough community for many years," said Freiman to Patch.

Freiman's children went through the Hillsborough Township School District and his wife is a retired educator who taught at Woodfern Elementary.

"This is a significant investment, making an additional $102 million in school aid available," said Freiman. "I am proud to sponsor legislation that would restore funding to the Hillsborough Township School District, and even prouder that this is possible thanks to our fiscally sound and responsible budgeting policies."

3732_I1 by Alexis Tarrazi on Scribd

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