FREEHOLD – New Jersey has cut in half the amount of state aid funding the Freehold Regional High School District will receive over the next several years.
Senate Bill 2 (S-2) reflects the state’s belief that the taxpayers of the Freehold Regional High School District are undertaxed.
With that position, the state will no longer subsidize communities who are not paying their “Local Fair Share.” As a means to oppose this, the district started a petition to Governor Phil Murphy calling the move “an arbitrary calculation that we continue to challenge. Even if tax levy increases were maximized under the state-imposed cap, S-2 will generate annual budget deficits that will require meaningful cuts to the programs and services that have distinguished this district in the State of New Jersey.”
The petition adds, “the impact of a revenue loss of this magnitude cannot be overstated. Over the next several years, programs and services in the areas of student supports, academic offerings, athletic and extracurricular opportunities, bussing, as well as progress towards targeted refinements outlined in our strategic plan, will all be markedly diminished.”
This year, the Freehold Regional’s state aid was reduced by $3.8 million, next year it will lose between $6 and $7 million with subsequent reductions for the next four years thereafter continuing on until it loses approximately $30 million in funding.
The district’s cumulative loss in state aid will reach $120 million by the end of this phase-in. Even with raising taxes district officials maintain, “we will never be able to close that gap.”
Supporters of the petition request, “you sign this petition to encourage Governor Murphy and New Jersey Legislators to re-examine this flawed funding formula and delay the phase-in until the full scope of its impact is understood.”
To see or sign the petition, visit change.org/p/phil-murphy-funding-formula-fairness-for-all-students
