As the rural and suburban school funding crisis caused by the funding law known as S2 is now expanding to hit even urban schools, Assemblyman Alex Sauickie is introducing legislation to provide emergency relief through a new proposal with uniform standards, regardless of what kind of community a school serves.

“The budget problems for New Jersey’s suburban and rural schools started when the New Jersey Department of Education decided hundreds of school districts were overfunded. That kicked off seven years of cuts under S2,” Sauickie (R-Ocean) said. “Now, even urban schools meant to benefit from S2, like East Orange, are getting squeezed financially.”

The “S2 Appropriations Rescue Act” he introduced last week provides $106.5 million in supplemental aid to certain school districts operating under their adequacy budgets and spending $19,000 or less per student. The bill (A5041) also stipulates that districts must have received less aid this school year or no more than $200,000 over last year. 

An adequacy budget is the minimum amount necessary to provide the constitutionally mandated thorough and efficient education. It is calculated by adding how much a district should be able to afford and state equalization aid – the current state target for school funding.

“Even if schools didn’t lose funding this year, the cumulative effect of the cuts make it nearly impossible to operate and provide a thorough and efficient education. New Jersey students are suffering because of the very volatile funding formula,” Sauickie added.

In 2018, the state enacted a seven-year phase-in of S2, which promised a fairer distribution of public school aid. Hundreds of school districts have since suffered unpredictable year-after-year cuts to subsidize so-called underfunded districts.

Sauickie represents 16 school districts. Five were either cut or held flat and overall funding is down almost $1.2 million compared to last year. The biggest loss in his legislative district is Jackson Township’s with a $4.5 million cut, before Sauickie secured another $2.5 million to save courtesy busing. 

“When the S2 cuts started, the DOE said the Jackson school district was overfunded by $16 million. Now, its high schools have student-teacher ratios of 30 to 1,” Sauickie said. “Schools have closed buildings, eliminated busing, and cut sports, clubs and educational opportunities. There is nothing left to cut. Schools need emergency intervention now.”  

Sauickie’s bill would provide eligible school districts $250 per student.

In addition to schools in Sauickie’s district, it would help school districts like East Orange that recently had to cut nearly 100 positions despite receiving an increase of $199,500 this year. School officials blamed the layoffs on a $25 million budget gap. Before the current school year, funding for the district had been flat.

“Districts like East Orange and nearby Toms River are victims of S2. Students and taxpayers should not have to be the ones to suffer the consequences,” Sauickie said. “Even with the state-imposed 9.9% property tax increase to fund Toms River schools, the district remains nearly $80 million under adequacy. What once were budget shortfalls have become giant fiscal cliffs.” 

Toms River was the first district this year to sue the state, the Education Department and the acting education commissioner for “unconstitutional actions” that created a revenue crisis. The Jackson school board also authorized its attorney to take legal action against the state over school funding this summer. 

 “New Jersey’s public education system simply cannot survive if nothing changes. Our students and teachers deserve better,” Sauickie said. “The money provided to schools in my proposal does not discount the need to rework the school funding formula in its entirety. It is a temporary shelter from the storm while we repair the structure of school funding.”