Corzine's budget increases direct school aid but leaves most districts with flat funding

TRENTON | Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposed budget boosts direct school funding by $304 million for the 2009-2010 school year, providing 171 of New Jersey's 616 school districts with an average aid increase of 5 percent.

Locally, Blairstown, Greenwich and Lopatcong township school districts and Warren County Technical School will each see a 5 percent increase in funding next school year over 2008-2009. Bloomsbury will get a 3 percent jump, according to figures released Wednesday.

"Evidently, the governor made a wise decision to keep the schools funded where we need to be," Warren Tech Superintendent Robert Glowacky said, adding that operation costs are continually rising. "We don't want to go backwards."

Glowacky said Warren Tech was picked to receive the extra funding based on rising enrollment. The school is expected to reach 500 students in September.

Glowacky and other administrators met Wednesday afternoon to begin figuring out where the nearly $80,000 in extra funding should go. Early ideas include improving security for a preschool slated to start in September, creating an additional bus route to accommodate new students or funding special education.

Schools with a growing population or those that are not yet spending the amount the state determines "adequate" for providing a thorough education will see an increase, down to a 5 percent cap from 20 percent last year. All others will get flat funding, Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said Wednesday.

Not 'great news' for all

Phillipsburg was among the Warren County schools to retain flat aid funding, with assistance holding at last year's level of about $37.9 million.

With costs of insurance, utilities and wages on the rise, it's not the best news Phillipsburg School Board President Paul Rummerfield has heard, but it could have been worse.

"Flat (aid) is not exactly great news, but it's good news," Rummerfield said. "It's better than a reduction."

The district's budget committee plans to meet this week to go over the numbers and prepare a budget to be introduced Monday, he said.

Given the other cuts in Corzine's $29.8 billion budget, interest groups expressed relief after hearing in the governor's budget address that he would boost school funding.

"An increase in state aid will help maintain education programs for school children," said Marie S. Bilik, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association. "It can also buffer homeowners from sharp increases in school property taxes."

Bilik added that while the increase should allow school boards to avoid severe financial hardships next school year, the future remains uncertain.

"The state must still deal with issues involving the underfunding of public employee pensions, the high cost of health benefits and gaps in revenue that might remain after the federal stimulus monies run out," she said.

Federal cash in play

The increased funding takes the total amount of direct school aid to $8.8 billion. Included in that amount is $52 million more for existing preschool programs. Another $25 million will be available to non-Abbott districts to begin preschool programs for 3- and 4-year-olds, although those districts will have to leverage some of their direct federal stimulus aid to pay for the programs.

Corzine used $1 billion in federal stimulus money for education.

While direct school aid jumped, overall funding for schools in the fiscal year 2010 budget stands at $11.39 billion, a $94 million decrease from the 2009 fiscal year that ends June 30.

The decrease encompasses a $10 million cut to adult education, a $564 million reduction to the teachers' pension fund and $3.9 million decrease in debt service, according to budget documents.