Cherry Hill Public Schools could receive $3.1 million of additional state aid money pending the signing of a bill reforming the school funding formula.
Changes to the state funding of public schools in New Jersey could result in a huge victory for Cherry Hill Public Schools.
Cherry Hill school officials are expecting to receive about $3.1 million of additional money from the state for the 2018–19 school year. This additional money could arrive pending the signing of a bill reforming school funding.
A bill approved by the Assembly and state Senate in June would change the state’s school funding law. According to information from the press office of the Senate Democrats, the bill would shift $60 million in aid from adjustment aid districts and increase state funding by $65 million. Gov. Murphy has not yet signed the bill into law, but included passage of school funding reform as part of his June 30 budget agreement with Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin.
Official state aid numbers have not yet been determined, but the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services did release estimated state aid figures for the 2018–19 school year in late June. In those estimates, Cherry Hill is slated to receive $17,295,270 in state aid. This would be an increase of about $3.1 million from last year.
Superintendent Joe Meloche said the district received an email from the Camden County Superintendent’s Office on July 6 saying it would be one to two weeks before more details regarding state funding are made available to school districts.
“We’re waiting to see if there’s stipulations from the state, if any part of it, or all of it, has to be used for tax relief or whether we can choose to spend it and do some of the work we need to do,” Meloche said.
Meloche applauded the efforts of board members, district officials, parents and other volunteers for advocating for the district over the last few months. District officials and a volunteer group named Fair Funding for Cherry Hill Public Schools have been advocating for additional funding for Cherry Hill’s schools for years, stating the district was being severely underfunded. According to figures from Fair Funding for Cherry Hill Public Schools, the district has been underfunded by more than $100 million over the past decade.
Earlier this year, there had been talks of township and school officials coming together to file a lawsuit against the state for the underfunding of schools. Meloche said any talk of a lawsuit has been put on hold while officials await the outcome of the new pending state law.
If the district receives additional funding from the state, it will need to pass a resolution amending the budget. Last year, the district chose to spend an additional $1.1 million of state aid it received following the passage of the state budget. The board chose to spend the extra money on maintenance projects, upkeep of the school grounds and instructional technology.
A couple residents voiced their opinions on state funding during public comment. Resident Ben Ovadia suggested the district look to spend the extra money on projects it needs to get done, especially with the district planning to have a bond referendum in October.
“Let’s not do tax relief,” Ovadia said. “As a taxpayer and as a parent of two children in the system and one still to get into it, it wouldn’t make any sense to ask the taxpayers for $150 million and then set up this refund for one year.”
Resident Miriam Stern said the additional funding was a “huge win” for the district and offered a suggestion to the board for ways it could bring in more revenue.
“I would really suggest … that the district needs to hire a grant writer, either part-time or full-time to start to really explore other ways that the district could enhance our funding beyond what we get from the state and possibly beyond what we may get from the bond,” Stern said.
