This year, the state is proposing cutting school aid to #hunterdoncounty schools by $2.6 million dollars, while increasing school aid for most other districts in the state by over half a billion dollars. Join Commissioner John Lanza in signing our https://www.change.org/stoptheschoolaidmadness petition to ensure Governor Murphy acts to keep our property taxes level and protects our children’s futures.
Reiterating a previous call to ‘Stop The School Aid Madness,’ the Hunterdon County Board of Commissioners approved a Resolution declaring the Board’s commitment to restoring much needed state aid to county school districts where aid has been cut and urges thirteen other Boards of County Commissioners across the state to fight the school aid cuts in the state’s proposed FY 21-22 budget.
“We are calling on fellow Boards of Commissioners in thirteen other counties where over 180 school districts are seeing aid cuts, to send resolutions to the legislators representing their counties suggesting budget language that school districts receive at least no less school aid than provided in the previous year. Hunterdon school aid is being cut by $2.6 million, the fourth consecutive year of aid cuts, while school aid is proposed to increase by $578 million. Adding this language to the state budget can prevent these reductions,” Deputy Director John E. Lanza said.
Lanza pointed out that despite a $1.5 billion increase in the state school aid over the last four years, there has been a reduction of school aid to Hunterdon County school districts by $8.4 million over the same period. The Board’s Director Susan J. Soloway also voiced concerns about the proposed school aid cuts and supported the resolution and encouraged other counties to join the effort. “We need to marshal the forces of the other Boards of County Commissioners to lobby the state legislature to stop these cuts that hurt our property taxpayers and school children, cut essential programs in our schools and ultimately affects teachers.
The state is not facing a great loss of revenue or a very tight budget that requires cutbacks to school districts and other parts of the state budget. The budget is in fact increasing by $4 billion. The state’s proposal cuts school aid in Hunterdon County and elsewhere, in order to increase school aid to other schools.
The state is picking school children winners and losers. That is madness and must stop,” Soloway said.
The ‘Stop The School Aid Madness’ Resolution will be forwarded to all other affected County Boards, as well as to the state legislators representing Hunterdon County. “Hunterdon County is proud to take the lead to ‘Stop The Madness’, asking legislators to freeze aid in those schools on the cutting block at the FY 20-21 level, protecting each county’s most valuable resource: its children,” Lanza concluded.