After years of being flat-funded, the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district will see a $1.05 million, or 10 percent, increase in the amount of state aid it receives next school year.##M:[more]##
In December, Governor Jon Corzine announced the release of the new state school funding formula, which calls for approximately $7.8 billion to be distributed for K-12 education around the state, or an increase of approximately $530 million, beginning with the 2008-’09 school year.
For its share, WW-P schools would see state aid go from $10,”504,”000 to $11,”554,”000 — an increase of $1,”050,”000.
Under the new formula, all districts would receive a state aid increase of at least 2 percent during the first year, and no districts would see a decrease in total state aid during the first three years of the program, a press release from the governor’s office stated. In later years, decreases in aid would occur if districts experience declines in overall enrollment or in enrollment categories, it added.
The new formula must be approved by the state legislature. According to the state Department of Education web site, the governor hopes it will be enacted in January.
The WW-P district fared well with its 10 percent increase, compared with neighboring Princeton, which received the minimum increase of 2 percent. The three Mercer County school districts receiving more aid were Washington, Ewing, and Hamilton, each receiving 20 percent increases.
Schools around the state had been calling on the department to come up with a solution to the funding problem, as many suggested the current formula simply was not taking into account demographic shifts and population increases, and was creating hardship to middle-class and wealthier districts by unfairly shifting a majority of the state aid to just 32 districts classified as Abbott, or poorer urban or special needs districts.
The state Department of Education has been working on the new formula for the past five years. “”In May of 2006, the Department informed the court that the creation of a new funding formula was a Departmental priority and that it was committed to develop a funding formula that would meet the needs of all students and would address the inequities that had resulted from the imbalance of increased funding targeted primarily to Abbott districts,”” the report accompanying the new formula states. The report also mentions that since 2002 — the last year in which demographic data from each district was used in calculating the current formula — “”many districts have experienced significant demographic shifts that have not been accounted for or reflected in the distribution of state aid.””
WW-P Assistant Superintendent of Finance Larry Shanok said aid to the district had been frozen for a number of years until last year when it, along with other districts in the area, received an increase of only 3 percent. “”We experienced a lot of growth in recent years, too. It was disappointing.””
Between 2000 and 2007, Shanok said the district saw an enrollment increase of about 16 percent. Shanok called the announcement that the district would receive a 10 percent increase “”positive,”” but “”there are a lot of unknowns at this point.””
Shanok said one thing that’s not clear is whether the entire $1,”050,”000 will be sent to the district, or whether the money will be restricted for use in certain areas of the budget. “”If it’s for things we’re not currently spending money on, it wouldn’t be useful,”” he said. “”It’s very unclear just what the rules of the road are.””
He also said along with the new formula, the state has created six new funding categories, including one that focuses on security, and because they are brand new, no one has had any experience with them.
“”It’s good to see an increase,”” he said. “”On the other hand, that still does leave our state aid per pupil below others districts like Princeton and Lawrence.””
The announcement comes as the officials have already begun meeting with the finance committee to discuss next year’s budget. “”We start very early,”” he said. “”We have one of the lowest rates of increase in the area — you have to do a lot of preparation.””
He said the first public discussion of the budget usually takes place during the school board’s second meeting in January.
-Cara Latham
