The Senate Education Committee amended and advanced legislation Thursday that changes the state’s school funding formula to provide districts with greater funding predictability from year to year without removing the 2% tax cap that protects taxpayers from huge property tax hikes.
NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Althea D. Ford testified in support of the amended legislation, S-3917, sponsored by Senate Education Chairman Vin Gopal (D-11). The committee released the bill by a vote of 3-2.
The bill seeks to prevent dramatic year-to-year fluctuations in state school aid that force districts to make steep budget cuts affecting programs and staffing. Under the bill, the state would not be able reduce any school district’s aid by more than 2% from one year to the next. The legislation also requires full funding of special education by removing eligibility caps that limit the amount of state funds that districts receive for educating students with disabilities.
Additionally, the amendments approved by the committee remove a provision from the original bill that would have allowed districts under some circumstances to exceed the current 2% tax levy cap that by state law limits annual increases in school taxes paid by property owners.
“NJBIA is supportive of investments in school funding as the K-12 system is part of our state’s economic and workforce development pipeline shaping the next generation of employees, entrepreneurs and job creators,” Ford testified.
“Equally, as an association representing our state’s job creators and a significant percentage of its taxpayers, we remain concerned about any funding model that overburdens taxpayers,” Ford said.
Nearly half of local property taxes collected throughout New Jersey are paid by businesses. Businesses have also been exempted from the ANCHOR and Stay NJ property tax rebate programs, as well.
“The state must be more intentional about addressing one of the key drivers of unaffordability in this state – property taxes,” Ford said. “Until assessment and reforms are made, the 2% cap must remain in place to safeguard against excessive tax increases, even for the most laudable of causes.
“We thank Chairman Gopal for the bill’s proposal to engage stakeholders to review the feasibility of multiyear averages to calculate local fair share, methods to improve preschool funding, and adjustments to deadlines concerning the school budget process,” Ford said.
