By Amber Cox
The eight public school districts in The Register-News coverage area are receiving an additional $1.3 million in state aid for the 2011-12 school year.
Bordentown Regional School District is getting a 5 percent increase from its state aid last year and will receive a total of $6,983,922.
Superintendent Constance Bauer said she is not sure where the district will put that extra money and will be discussing it until March 4 when the tentative budgets must be submitted to the county.
Chesterfield Township’s state aid numbers more than doubled from last year’s. For the 2010-11 school year, it received $62,901, and it will be receiving $126,446. Chesterfield has one school serving about 535 students in grades kindergarten through sixth with around 25 in the school’s preschool program.
The Board of Education has been preparing a budget without including any type of state aid and is not sure where the extra money will be allocated.
”It was more than we expected,” said Superintendent Ellen McHenry. “We were glad to be able to add that back into our budget.”
Florence Township is getting an additional $238,325 from last year for a total of $8,782,062.
Mansfield Township is seeing a large increase of 28 percent for a total of $416,221.
Superintendent Diane Bacher said the district is grateful to receive back such a large percentage of what was cut from last year.
”The funding will be used to reinstate the basic skills program at the John Hydock Elementary School,” she said. “The program suffered cuts as a result of last year’s 58 percent reduction in state aid.”
New Hanover is getting an additional $52,258 from last year for a total of $2,344,255. New Hanover has one school in the district, serving about 160 students in grades kindergarten through eighth.
The board is weighing its options to send its middle school students to the Bordentown Regional Middle School. It already has a send/receive relationship with Bordentown for its high school students.
North Hanover is getting an additional $222,227 for a total of $10,462,258.
Northern Burlington is getting a 2 percent increase for a total of $10,866,744.
Springfield Township is getting an increase of 4 percent from last year’s state aid. The school will receive $1,161,242.
Springfield has one school serving around 300 students in grades kindergarten through sixth.
”I’m pleasantly surprised,” Interim Superintendent Joseph Miller said. “We were expecting, at best, to have level funding. We were kind of prepared for a cut from last year’s figures. When I saw the increase, it was kind of a shock.”
Mr. Miller said he can’t say exactly where the money will be allocated and will continue to work on placing it until the tentative budget is due at the county.
