Millburn Schools to Receive More State Aid
Every district in the state will benefit, governor says.
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Local school districts received good news Tuesday — some state aid is coming their way. But that news was tempered with a statement later from Christie saying he wants most districts to use the money for property tax relief.
The Education Allocation Plan, announced by Gov. Chris Christie, authorizes an additional $850 million in state aid to be shared among the districts for the 2012 school year.
For Millburn, it's a total of approximately $1.5 million, with half of it already set for allocation and part of the 2011-2012 budget.
“We have not received any guidelines yet as to what that money is, what our options are for using it, or when exactly we might get it. But, having said that, I'm quite happy to get any budget assistance so I remain guardedly optimistic,” said Millburn Superintendent of Schools Dr. James Crisfield.
A year ago school officials expected a 20 percent cut in state aid, but many districts received a much larger cut and, in fact, Millburn lost all of its approximately $3 million in state aid at that time.
The money is listed under a "Special Education" column, but it is not restricted to that purpose, Crisfield said.
Christie's bump in education aid includes his initial $250 million increase for all districts, as well as an additional $150 million for non-Abbott districts. The measure also adds $450 million toward the 31 Abbott districts.
The boost, according to Christie, will mark the highest levels of state funding since he took office early last year.
"We are keeping faith with our commitment to New Jersey’s children and families, spending more money per pupil on New Jersey’s students than almost any other state in the country," said Christie in a release. "Now is the time to complement the dollars spent with real education reform to bring a focus on student learning, accountability and results."
According to the governor's office, this increase in education aid will provide much-needed property tax relief to state residents as the state increases its support for local schools.
2011-2012 Projected SFRA Total K-12 State School Aid
» 2011-12 State Aid Summaries Home
County: ESSEX
District: MILLBURN TWP
K-12 2010-2011 Total Aid: $0
Governor's Budget 2011-2012 Total Aid: $764,617
Additional Aid 2011-2012 Approp. Act: $764,617
Equalized Aid: $0
Education Adequacy Aid: $0
Choice Aid: $0
Transportation Aid: $0
Special Education Categorical Aid: $1,529,234
Security Aid: $0
Adjustment Aid: $0
Revised 2011-2012 Total Aid: $1,529,234
One Year Aid Change: $1,529,234
The county and school district allocation lists can be viewed here.
Pucci
2:31 pm on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
...this is going to have the MEA/NJEA licking their chops!
neanderer
3:37 pm on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
From the article: "The money is listed under a "Special Education" column, but it is not restricted to that purpose, Crisfield said."
Can someone explain why the money would not go to Special Ed if it is listed under Special Ed? Special Ed already had teachers cut for the 2011-2012 budget. Shouldn't the added $ be used to restore those cuts?
Zoinks
3:44 pm on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
And so were a lot of other things.
neanderer
3:46 pm on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
True.
But it is odd that money shown as coming from the state for Special Ed wouldn't be restricted to Special Ed. Looking for some clarity on how the suprise funds will be used.
Dr. James Crisfield
4:35 pm on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The state's aid printout is as confusing and convoluted as ever. It's very hard to explain in a short sentence or two, but basically this state aid is generated by the now infamous state funding formula, which has various categories that it uses to come up with a total amount of aid for each district. Of course, the formula hasn't been fully funded for years. But, when it gets partially funded, the printouts denote which categories generate how much money for each district. However, the listed categories do not mean the district must spend it on that particular category (confusing, I know!). They are just included to show how the total aid figure was derived. This formula aid is "unrestricted" general fund aid in that a district may spend it on whatever it likes (in the general fund). There are various restricted monies that come into a district on a given year (e.g., IDEA grant money from the federal government) that must be spent on for a given purpose in special revenue funds (in the case of IDEA, those funds must be spent on special education). But in the case of general fund formula aid from the state, there are no such restrictions (even though the categories listed make it seem like there are).
Hope that helps clarify. Probably doesn't, I know, but it was worth a shot to hopefully nip some understandable confusion out there in the bud. :-)
Stay tuned as to how we will use the additional $. Since it was given after budgets were struck, confusion reigns!
KLF
4:26 pm on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
This money, I believe, is calculated based on the number and type of sepcial ed students the district has. I would imagine that many districts had to cut other, non-special ed items in order to maintain their special ed programs at the minimum legal standard. In this case, the extra "special ed" state aid would help offset those cuts that were made to maintain special ed. Just a hunch.
Noreen Brunini
4:50 pm on Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Since it is unrestricted aid, but not known if it will be 'recurring' or paid again in future years, the best thing is to spend it on "one time expenses' such as technology. The worst thing would be to spend it on salary increases which will obviously recur annually. Technology benefits both Special Needs and Reg Ed students and the district has tech needs.
LDSF
10:35 pm on Thursday, July 14, 2011
It depends on the amount of this 'one time expenses'. It is to remain guardedly optimistic. Special education may develop a new effective program with technology to benefit both Special Needs and Reg Ed students, as to attract and retain qualified teachers.
J Doe
8:31 am on Friday, July 15, 2011
The best idea would be to do what the governor suggests: to use the money for property tax relief. Why are we even talking about how to spend this money? We should return it to our already overtaxed taxpayers thorough a lower tax rate,. as intended.
KLF
12:02 pm on Friday, July 15, 2011
You'll get more "return" by keeping the school district top-notch. Getting an average of $200 in tax relief per househould would be penny wise and pound foolish. You'll lose more than that on the sale of your home if we don't remain one of the top districts.
Susan1
11:03 am on Friday, July 15, 2011
This was unconscionable manipulation by Christie. He took away funds, forced districts to make hurtful cuts, and then handed over money after the damage was done.
KLF
12:03 pm on Friday, July 15, 2011
And you expected othersie?