School districts may see more state aid

State aid to the Frankford, High Point, Sussex-Wantage and Vernon Township school districts would increase next year, according to the state budget introduced by Gov. Phil Murphy, D-N.J., last month.

State aid to the Frankford district, which serves grades K-8, would rise 3 percent to $928,373 for the 2024-25 school year. That is $27,022 more than it received for the 2023-24 year.

State aid to the High Point district, which operates a regional high school, would rise 5.4 percent to $3,672,799 for the 2024-25 school year. For the 2023-24 year, it received $3,484,260 in state aid.

New Jersey would provide $6,691,242 to the Sussex-Wantage district, which serves grades K-8, for the 2024-25 school year, up 15.8 percent. For the 2023-24 year, the district received $5,777,626.

State aid to the Vernon Township School District, with grades K-12, would increase 6.2 percent. The district would receive $17,535,243 for the 2024-25 school year, up $1,024,797 from what it received for 2023-24.

The districts would be among the 422 with an increase in state aid, compared with 137 districts set to see decreases. Aid to 15 districts would not change.

According to figures released by the state Department of Education on Feb. 29, the Frankford district would receive $453,410 in special-education aid, $253,966 in transportation aid, $121,579 in adjustment aid, $50,736 in equalization aid and $48,682 in security aid.

The High Point district would receive $2,038,565 in equalization aid, $748,822 in transportation aid, $738,367 in special-education aid, $86,130 in security aid and $60,915 in school choice aid.

The Sussex-Wantage district would receive $4,343,433 in equalization aid, $1,273,826 in special-education aid, $824,237 in transportation aid, $236,794 in security aid and $12,952 in school choice aid.

The Vernon district would receive $11,497,936 in equalization aid, $3,336,134 in special-education aid, $2,202,151 in transportation aid, $341,922 in security aid and $157,100 in school choice aid.

In his budget, Murphy added $908 million in grades K-12 formula aid to fully fund the state’s school funding formula for the first time since it was established in 2009.

The money is the single largest investment in his budget proposal.