File this one in the “not very good news” department. The New Jersey School Boards Association reported last week that while Gov. Chris Christie’s budget message is still several weeks away, “New Jersey school districts are bracing for the possibility of further cuts in state aid to districts.”
Oh, that’s just what we wanted to hear. With school costs accounting for the bulk of what property owners pay in property taxes, less aid from Trenton means more reliance on a local tax levy to support the operation of our schools.
About 60 New Jersey school districts have already seen their state aid drop to zero — a ridiculous situation in my opinion, since every school district should get some state aid — and other school districts are getting closer to seeing a big fat goose egg from Trenton.
The NJSBA newsletter went on to state, “On Jan. 19, the New Jersey Department of Education sent a memo to the local chief school administrators and school business administrators. ‘For purposes of developing your preliminary budgets, districts should make allowances for the possibility of a reduction in state aid from your 2010-11 amounts,’ noted the letter, which was signed by Yut’se Thomas, acting assistant commissioner of the education department’s finance division. However, no amount was provided.”
The NJSBAstates that “the memo … cautions that no final decisions have yet been made. ‘This guidance is for planning purposes only and is no indication of the final state aid allocation for 2011-12. The latter will be provided … following the Governor’s budget
message.’ ”
The annual ritual of praying for dollars from Trenton in order to help offset the amount of taxes that has to be collected from local property owners must be maddening to school superintendents, school district business administrators and school board members as they work to prepare a budget for the next school year.
Property taxpayers — that’s you and me — are waiting, along with our local school district administrators — for the state aid shoe to drop in a few weeks. You will know when that happens — and how bad the news is — when you hear the thud (and read the complaints) coming from your local school board.
Mark Rosman is a managing editor with Greater Media Newspapers.