With the news that the state has $5.2 billion more in tax revenues than anticipated, there are no longer any excuses for the over $3 million in state aid cuts targeting Hunterdon County schools, Hunterdon County Board of Commissioners Deputy Director John E. Lanza has written in a letter to the state legislature’s budget committee leaders.
Lanza, who has been advocating for re-instatement of the state school aid cuts to twenty Hunterdon County school districts in the fiscal 2021-22 budget, as part of a Stop The School Aid Madness campaign, wrote, “Twenty Hunterdon County school districts are slated to see a reduction of $3,309,089 million in aid. These cuts are devastating to school children, programs, and educational staff and our property taxpayers.
The fact that the state budget will see an unanticipated revenue increase of $5.2 billion, in addition to the $4 billion increase initially proposed by the Governor—with borrowed funds—there is now no excuse to make these cuts to our schools.”
Lanza added, “We are advised that the total cost of school aid cuts to 195 school districts around the state is $193 million, which can easily be covered by the new ‘found’ money.”
Lanza wrote the Budget Chairs Senator Paul Sarlo and Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin, “Hunterdon County students are just as deserving of the highest quality educational experience as their peers across the state. You have the ability to ensure that quality is not threatened by cuts in state aid.”