TOMS RIVER – Superintendent Michael Citta asked the Township Council to buy land owned by the district next to Silver Bay Elementary School for open space.
Officials said during a Township Council meeting there could be 49 homes built on that property if it went to a public sale.
Selling it to the town would be a way to bridge a gaping hole the district’s budget brought on by the state’s new funding formula.
The S-2 funding formula came into effect in 2018 and every year has cut more and more money. For the 2023-2024 school year, they had been anticipating a loss of aid in the amount of $2,688,937. Instead, they received a surprise cut of $14,421,851.
A bill signed recently by the governor would reinstate 66% of this, which would be about $9.5 million. The district has to apply for this Supplemental Stabilization Aid. It’s a one-time award.
Selling the land is also a one-time award but that is what a lot of districts are looking to do. Even with getting 66% back, the district is still looking at a cut of $5 million.
“Before we have to liquidate our assets through public sale,” he came to the township to sell the land, Citta said.
“There have been 304 cuts to staff,” Citta explained. There’s little left to cut.
The generation coming up is supposed to have more opportunities than the last, he said. “When we start cutting opportunities, we can’t any longer provide a thorough and efficient education.”
“It’s not to say that other districts don’t deserve the funds they got, but it’s a broken system,” he said.
Mayor Maurice “Mo” Hill said the township’s Land Use Committee is in favor of the purchase, but it will be done on contingent of an appraisal, like any other purchase.
“We have adequate funds for the purchase,” he said.
The township has an open space tax of 1.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. This would be used to purchase this land.
Hill asked Citta to come talk to the Council about it that evening. Council President Matthew Lotano explained that the reason it wasn’t on the agenda for the meeting is because the discussions for it only happened hours before.
After the council heard his case, Citta said he would talk to his Board of Education about it. A few of them were in the audience of the meeting but not necessarily in an official capacity.
A similar situation is unfolding in Jackson. They also got hit hard by S-2. They were looking at a $2.5 million cut in aid before the bill was passed that would return 66%.
Therefore, they are selling approximately 114 acres to the town for about $1 million, which will also come from their open space fund.
Jackson Council President Martin Flemming explained that “the parcels (of land) were being held for future expansion but that isn’t happening now.”
Superintendent Nicole Pormilli told The Jackson Times that the purchase that was being negotiated includes small parcels of district-owned land that have been sitting dormant for decades and that the district cannot use for any purpose.
That land will add new hiking and biking rails along with playgrounds for public use. Earlier in the year, the Jackson superintendent brought up the possibility of selling Rosenauer Elementary School to make up for the state aid loss.
-Bob Vosseller contributed to this story
