Senator Gopal, Assemblywoman Donlon, Assemblywoman Peterpaul, and Mayors of Red Bank, Long Branch, Neptune and Asbury Park call for changes to school funding formula

Formula hurt Monmouth County’s most underserved municipalities due to a flaw in how the formula calculates income and other factors in shore towns

DR. MARGIE DONLON, SENATOR
VIN GOPAL and LUANNE PETERPAUL, ESQ. of Team Monmouth

OCEAN TOWNSHIP – Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) met with New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer this week to address the school funding crisis affecting the most underserved communities in Monmouth County – Red Bank, Long Branch, Asbury Park and Neptune.

School districts in Legislative District 11 are scheduled to lose more than $16 million in state aid in the coming fiscal year based on the state funding formula’s latest calculations.

“As it exists, the school funding formula is deeply flawed,” said Senator Gopal. “It denies too many districts the time and consistency they need to best serve their students. I appreciate Commissioner Dehmer taking the time to discuss how we can help districts navigate these cuts and take steps to address the funding formula’s shortcomings going forward.”

Senator Gopal has been a persistent critic of the state’s school funding formula and championed numerous efforts to restore funding to districts that have faced sharp cuts under the formula in recent years.

Assemblywomen Margie Donlon and Luanne Peterpaul, representing the 11th District, joined Gopal in calling for change.

“We need supplemental funding and changes to the formula. Asbury Park, Long Branch, Neptune Township, and Red Bank are the towns hit hardest by the cuts to funding, all of which have racially and soci-econmoically diverse communities,” stated Assemblywoman Peterpaul.

“These Monmouth County communities who need the most support from us will suffer because of these reductions. We need to do everything we can to not only restore funding to our schools, but also approach changes to the formula with the hindsight of the current funding crisis”, said Assemblywoman Donlan.

In particular, the LD11 lawmakers are pushing for revisions to the method the formula uses to calculate a district’s wealth.

The formula uses a district’s property values and the incomes of district residents to calculate how much funding the district is expected to raise through local property taxes. When property values and incomes in a district rise, the formula assumes the district can raise more through taxes and cuts the level of state aid provided to the district proportionately.

All four districts saw their local tax obligations rise due to spikes in those wealth indicators, but leaders from the districts stress those metrics have some glaring flaws that cause the formula to overestimate how much their district’s can raise through local taxes.

“There was no way to predict the $10 million loss in funding to our school district. We have consistently gained aid each year under the formula until this year. With the very sudden and steep cut to our school district, an almost 20% decrease from last year, the Long Branch schools could be forced into scaling back services for students and staff in order to keep our schools running,” said Long Branch Mayor John Pallone.

Senator Gopal stated that the projected numbers this year are indicative of the unreliability and volatility of the formula, which needs to be addressed.

“The formula clearly is not calibrated to assess the needs of these communities. As the state is poised to make an historic investment in New Jersey’s schools, these districts, which serve communities that need our support, are facing devastating cuts,” Senator Gopal said.

While revising the formula remains the ultimate goal, the latest round of funding cuts has led community leaders to call for a more immediate solution, as well.

“After years of cuts to our district’s aid, we are faced with decisions we never thought we would have to make,” said Asbury Park Mayor John Moor. “Unless some of this funding is restored, Asbury Park will be forced to cut critical services we provide to our students and families.”

Gopal has been collaborating with leaders from local towns that have been hit hard by the formula to strategize on solutions and emphasize the severity of their situation to the state.

“Our students, staff, and their families all play their part in supporting and fostering a healthy learning environment – their contributions shouldn’t be jeopardized by flaws in the state formula ,” said Neptune Township Mayor Tassie York.

“As administrators, we plan for the upcoming school year to ensure that every child receives the support they need. While we have lost funds each year due to the school funding formula, we did not plan to lose over a third of our state aid, as we had a decrease of 34.8% in funds,” Mayor York added. “Consistency is critical to a school district’s success, and the volatility of this formula continues to hinder our district’s success.”

Red Bank Mayor William Portman said that after several years of funding uncertainty, his district is also struggling to maintain services that local residents have come to count on.

“Red Bank Boro lost 19.6% in funding compared to the previous year. The volatility of the school funding formula is unacceptable,”

Senator Gopal, Assemblywoman Donlon, Assemblywoman Peterpaul, Mayor Pallone, Mayor Moor, Mayor York, and Mayor Portman are calling on the state to provide assistance to disSenator Vin Gopal, a lifelong resident of Monmouth County elected in 2018, serves as Senate Majority Conference Leader and Chair of the Senate Education Committee. Assemblywoman Dr. Margie Donlon, a practicing physician, serves on the Assembly Health and the Tourism, Gaming & the Arts Committees; Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul, Esq., serves on the Assembly Commerce, Economic Development & Agriculture and the Aging & Human Services Committees. They represent residents of Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Bradley Beach, Colts Neck, Deal, Eatontown, Fair Haven, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, Long Branch, Neptune City, Neptune Township, Ocean 802 WEST PARK AVENUE, SUITE 302 • OCEAN, NJ 07712 PHONE: (732) 695-3371 • FAX: (732) 695-3374 STATE OF NEW JERSEY DR. MARGIE DONLON Assemblywoman, 11th District VIN GOPAL Senator, 11th District Majority Conference Leader LUANNE PETERPAUL Assemblywoman, 11th District Township, Red Bank, Shrewsbury Borough, Shrewsbury Township, and Tinton Falls in the State Senate and State Assembly.