New Jersey schools are cutting hundreds of teachers and other staff in adopting tighter budgets for the 2024-25 school year. The layoffs affect a wide range of personnel, including aides, teachers, counselors, security, custodial staff and administrators.
The cuts have been criticized by educators and community members, some of whom said teachers are being asked “to do more with less.”
“How are we supposed to have the teachers keep their morale up to even want to teach?” asked one resident in Hazlet, where the school district recently abolished 16 positions, including 12 teachers.
But why are so many schools laying people off? And is there anything that can be done about it?
Why are schools cutting jobs?
The staff cuts are largely attributed by school officials to a reduction in funding, mainly state aid. But, officials also cited an expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funds and rising costs for things like tuition for out-of-district students, transportation and healthcare.
Some districts are facing significant state funding cuts for the upcoming school year as New Jersey fully implements its school funding formula for the first time.
The school funding formula is designed to more fairly distribute state aid to school districts based on a number of factors, including: the size of the district, how many low-income and special education students it enrolls, the amount of local taxes they collect, and other factors.
The revamped formula has been controversial from the jump. Districts with growing enrollment may see more state dollars while those losing students may get less state aid. Districts may also gain aid if their tax base is weakening or lose state aid if there’s growth in the local economy.
Some school districts facing cuts say the formula is unfair.
Under the new state budget that Gov. Phil Murphy signed Friday, 140 school districts will see a decrease in state aid during the 2025 fiscal year. Some districts stand to lose millions of dollars. Of the 10 schools losing the most money, more than half are slashing personnel.
Who is cutting jobs?
Job cuts have been announced in school districts up and down the state.
NJ.com has previously reported on the elimination of teachers and other staff in the following districts: Asbury Park, East Brunswick, Freehold, Hazlet Township School District, Matawan-Aberdeen Regional, Red Bank Regional, South Orange and Maplewood and Upper Township School District.
These eight districts alone have eliminated more than 200 teachers, kindergarten aides, school counselors, security guards and other staff, according to public budget presentations.
This represents just a portion of the total layoffs in the state’s more than 600 school districts.
Jackson Township recently announced it is eliminating 70 jobs and making other “unthinkable cuts” as it grapples with an $18 million deficit exacerbated by a reduction in state aid.
The Ocean County school district is expecting a $4.5 million reduction in state aid next year, representing one of the 10 largest dollar decreases under the fully funded state formula implemented under Gov. Murphy’s 2025 budget.
The jobs being cut include six paraprofessionals, eight teachers and one administrator. School officials also recently announced the immediate closure of an elementary school.
Lenape Regional High School District has also been “repeat losers in the appropriation of state aid,” said Superintendent Carol Birnbohm in a June 5 update.
The Burlington County school district is facing a $4.7 million decrease in state aid for the 2024-25 school year, more than 14 times the anticipate decrease, Birnbohm said.
The schools district is eliminating 25 non-tenured staff to accommodate for the loss of revenue, the superintendent said.
Since enrollment is a significant factor contributing factor in the state funding formula, shrinking districts like Neptune Township are hurting.
Neptune has seen its enrollment decline 13% since 2018, according to a district budget presentation. After several difficult budget years, the district is anticipating a $4.4 million reduction in state aid next year.
To make up for the loss of revenue, the district is eliminating 28 positions, schools officials said. While many of the jobs were cut through attrition, 10 non-tenured staff had their contracts non-renewed, according to a district budget presentation.
The staff cuts could drive up class sizes.
In Lacey Township, class sizes could rise to the 40s across all grade levels, according to a district budget presentation. The Ocean County school district is projecting a $6.9 million budget shortfall next year, exacerbated by a $3.2 million reduction in state aid, school officials said.
The district made reductions to athletics, co-curricular budgets, and academic supports for students who need extra help. Despite these reductions, school officials said they had to eliminate 57 positions, including teachers, administrators and support staff.
In addition to cutting jobs, schools have also eliminated busing, cut programming and rolled back employee benefits.
Can schools do anything?
In response to repeated calls for reform, the state Legislature passed two bills aimed at restoring state aid to some school districts.
One (A4161), signed into law by Murphy on May 14, set aside $44.7 million to restore some of the state aid to school districts facing cuts.
Another (A4059) signed by Murphy gives school districts experiencing a reduction in state aid additional time to submit their budgets, giving them more time to see what their final state aid figures will be before they reduce staff or make other cuts.
The legislation also allows certain districts experiencing reductions in state aid to request increases in their adjusted property tax levies above the 2% cap established under current law.
It’s unclear how many jobs will be saved with the restored state aid.
A majority of the $1.8 million in funding restored to Asbury Park — about $950,000 — is going toward charter schools, said Acting Superintendent Mark Gerbino during a May 28 board meeting.
Another $450-500,000 of the reinstated funding is going toward programs, “so that leaves me about $350-400,000 to bring back whatever staff I can.”
Gerbino said the district was originally facing a reduction of 34 positions but he was able to bring back four staff members who were let go, according to a May 23 board meeting.
Also under the new legislation, Lenape Regional High School District is implementing a one-time additional 5.7% increase in taxes, which the superintendent said “will make it possible to fulfill our commitment to preserving the quality high school experiences our students deserve and our community expects.”
But the new legislation may not help everyone.
When asked if South Orange-Maplewood School District would be restoring any of the 28 positions cut, a spokesman said last month “the district’s need for additional state aid is due to a $3.7 million drop in total aid, which our state funding allocation does not cover.”
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NJ Advance Media data reporter Katie Kausch contributed to this report.
Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.