Assemblyman Alex Sauickie is calling out the New Jersey Department of Education for what he described as an “illegal and reckless” incentive program that encourages school districts to exceed the state’s 2% property tax cap without legal authority or appropriated funds. 

The proposed program would offer districts a 5% state match – up to $1 million – if they raise local property taxes above the legal cap.  

The initiative does not appear in any existing statute and conflicts with New Jersey’s 2% property tax cap law. If every eligible district participated, state costs could approach $300 million, a figure not accounted for in Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed state budget. 

The Little Egg Harbor School District is now considering a 33% property tax increase—not due to local financial mismanagement, Sauickie said, but because of “the state’s repeated and deliberate defunding of public schools” under the S2 funding formula. 

“This is an outrageous abuse of power,” Sauickie (R-Ocean) said. “There is no law that lets districts exceed the cap, but the Education Department is pushing towns like Little Egg Harbor, Lacey Township and Jackson to do it anyway. It’s incorrigible.” 

“A 33% increase on families already struggling with the cost of living is not a solution—it’s a betrayal,” he added. 

Dozens of school districts across New Jersey have seen sharp reductions in state aid by Murphy’s administration, resulting in cuts to programs, staff and services.  

Instead of restoring funding through the state budget, Sauickie said the Murphy administration is “dangling a fiscal carrot, but only if local districts break faith with taxpayers and push property taxes even higher.” 

“This administration talks about property tax relief and public education, but their actions say otherwise,” he said. “This scheme is just a political gimmick to dodge the state’s duty and dump the costs on local taxpayers.” 

Sauickie is calling for an immediate halt to the proposed program, a full explanation of how it was developed, and clarification on how the unbudgeted funds would be provided. 

“New Jersey families aren’t fooled,” Sauickie said. “This isn’t about helping kids. It’s about shifting costs and forcing school boards into a no-win choice: raise taxes or cut essential services. We need the state to step up, not budget games.”