Dear LRHSD Community,

Yesterday, we received the devastating news that our school funding for the 2024-2025 year will be gutted beyond what was ever anticipated. This is not the first time the school funding formula and subsequent legislation (Senate Bill S2) failed to provide for the students of LRHSD. For seven consecutive years, our district, along with around 200 others, has witnessed our local taxpayers' dollars being redirected to over 400 different school districts in NJ due to Senate Bill S2. It's disheartening, and it directly impacts our ability to provide for our students.

The S2 reductions were mandated to be gradual, to allow districts time to make incremental cuts to yearly budgets, which we have done. Despite implementing these gradual cuts, including but not limited to, reducing certain services, eliminating courtesy busing within 2 ½ miles, implementing neighborhood bus stops, pausing curriculum writing and textbook purchases, imposing athletic and activity fees, and the strategic reduction of staff through attrition, we are now facing an unexpected and substantial reduction in state aid of $4.69 million, almost 14 times more than what was mandated by Senate Bill S2! 

To put this into perspective, our state aid, which was $29,261,292 in 2018-2019, has now plummeted to $18,931,779 for 2024-2025. With uncontrollable factors like increased healthcare costs, transportation, energy, inflation, and persistent underfunding of special education, our staff was already preparing for a budget hole in the millions. Now with this unprecedented reduction in state aid in one year, this canyon-sized hole demands that we reevaluate our plans and make deeper cuts that will inevitably impact programs and staffing. We will be communicating our new plans within the month.

While Governor Murphy claims his administration is the first to fully fund the formula, it's essential to know that this "full funding" involves taking millions of dollars in aid away from about 140 school districts, including ours. Many of you made the intentional decision to raise your families in the LRHSD region because of the first-class education provided here. Year after year reductions in funding made by our state leaders will jeopardize the high school experiences our students deserve.

We find ourselves at a critical juncture, and your voice matters. If you share my disappointment and frustration, I encourage you to reach out to our elected officials. Governor Murphy's proposed budget is not set in stone, and your input can make a difference. You can find all the necessary contact information on our Support Our Students page.

Let Governor Murphy and the chairs of the Budget, Appropriations, and Education Committees know how you feel about our school district losing $4.7 million. Enlist your local Legislative District representatives (7 & 8) to advocate for our students and ensure that no school district loses funding.

Your involvement has the power to positively impact the students of LRHSD, not just for now but for the future. Thank you for standing with us during this challenging time.

Thank you,
Dr. Carol L. Birnbohm
Superintendent of Schools