TRENTON, N.J. – Legislation introduced by Assemblyman Alex Sauickie would use state funds to help school districts absorb rising health insurance costs after years of steep property tax increases driven by the state’s flawed school funding formula.
The bill (A4750) would appropriate up to $50 million to be distributed to qualifying school districts that have been forced to raise property taxes by more than 9.9% combined over the past two years. This threshold reflects the extraordinary fiscal pressure many communities are facing as they struggle to maintain essential education services.
Across New Jersey, municipalities and school districts have experienced record property tax hikes, with some communities seeing increases in back-to-back years and others facing spikes as high as 33% in a single year.
“Families across New Jersey are being squeezed from every direction,” Sauickie (R-Ocean) said. “Over the past several years, the state’s school funding formula has forced many districts to raise property taxes just to keep their schools operating. Now those same districts are being hit with health insurance cost increases of up to 35%, and local taxpayers simply cannot absorb another round of these massive hikes.”
Sauickie said the bill recognizes that the burden placed on school districts and property taxpayers is no longer sustainable and that the state must step in to provide relief.
“For years, Trenton’s policies have shifted responsibility away from the state and onto local communities,” Sauickie said. “When districts are forced to raise taxes dramatically just to keep the lights on, and then face enormous increases in health insurance costs, the state cannot simply look the other way. It is time for the state to step in and provide support.”
Sauickie noted that the cost of the bill is modest when compared to recent state aid increases elsewhere.
“The total cost of this legislation is less than the $60 million in additional state aid provided to the Newark City School District this year, following three previous years in which Newark received roughly $100 million more annually,” Sauickie said. “Those increases were funded by the same New Jersey parents whose own local school districts are now once again struggling to close budget gaps caused by state policy decisions.”
The cost of employee health benefits is one of the fastest-growing expenses in district budgets.
Sauickie emphasized that the relief is aimed not only at school districts, but also at the families who ultimately pay the bill.
“Parents and homeowners have already been pushed to the limit,” Sauickie said. “Property taxpayers should not be expected to absorb another wave of massive increases simply because of systemic policy failures in Trenton. This legislation is about providing real relief to districts and the families who support them.”
Sauickie added that while the bill provides immediate support, it also highlights the urgent need for broader reform of New Jersey’s school funding and health benefits systems to prevent similar crises in the future.
“New Jersey’s taxpayers deserve a system that is fair, predictable, and sustainable,” Sauickie said. “Until we fix the underlying problems, we must at least ensure that communities already pushed to the brink receive the support they need.”
