Let Your Voice Be Heard

The Lenape Regional High School District (LRHSD) believes that every student deserves a high-quality education supported by fair, predictable, and adequate state funding. This year, the state made several temporary changes to its school funding formula that benefited districts like ours. For example, just one of the changes placed a limit on the amount the state could reduce funding, which saved LRHSD from losing over $4.5 million dollars. To protect these gains and promote long-term sustainability, we are encouraging our community to advocate for making these changes permanent.

Your voice makes a difference. Legislators listen to their constituents and hearing from parents, students, educators, and community members helps ensure decisions reflect the needs of local districts like LRHSD. By advocating together, we can influence public policy and promote equitable education funding across New Jersey.

What We Recommend: Key Funding Formula Improvements

1. Revise the Special Education Funding Model
   • Use actual special education enrollment data and not a statewide average to determine special education categorical aid.
   • Do not apply a  district's overall student growth factor to special education categorical aid, as general enrollment growth is not indicative of the growth of a district’s special education population.
2. Cap Equalization Aid Changes
   • Limit year-to-year changes in Equalization Aid with guardrails to prevent dramatic funding losses or spikes that disrupt district planning and programs. Ideally all districts should see at a minimum an increase in aid relative to the Consumer Price Index.
3. Stabilize Local Fair Share Calculations
   • Use a five-year average when calculating District Income and Equalized Valuation.
   • Apply constant multipliers and set caps on how much Local Fair Share (LFS) can change annually similar to the guardrails for Equalization Aid with the goal to minimize fluctuations in LFS to provide districts with a more stable and predictable funding outlook.
4. Increase Funding for Adequacy Calculations
   • Increase Security and Transportation Aid. Consider reimbursing districts for actual expenditures in transportation aid, similar to the process for extraordinary aid for special education.
   • Include aid for Mental Health programs for students and staff previously supported with COVID Relief Federal funds.
5. Increase Allowable Surplus
   • Allow school districts to save greater than two percent of their budget consistent with municipal and state government entities. This would allow a district to maintain student programs in light of a state aid decrease or unexpected increase in costs of services.
6. Include Certain Expenses in the Two Percent Cap Waiver Category (similar to Health Insurance)
   • Uncontrollable expenses (energy and transportation, for example) should allow a district to increase taxes beyond two percent.