New Jersey school district fights for funding ahead of drastic cuts at state capital

Students, parents and teachers in South Jersey’s largest school district boarded buses to the state capital on Wednesday to advocate for more funding.

Cherry Hill Public Schools learned last month that their state aid would be cut by $6.9 million for 2024-2025. In response, more than 60 people, including 17 students, made the trip to Trenton and testified at the Assembly Budget Committee’s hearing Wednesday afternoon.

“Consider the wellbeing of students because by cutting this you are not considering the wellbeing of students,” said Collin Ducket, a senior at Cherry Hill West and one of the students who testified.

The Cherry Hill School District was underfunded for decades, according to the district’s acting superintendent, Dr. Kwame Morton. For the last four years, though, the state consistently increased the district’s aid. When Dr. Morton learned that the district’s state aid was now being slashed by 19%, he said he was shocked.

“We were devastated and that volatility all but prevents any opportunities to plan effectively,” Dr. Morton told NBC10.

He said to balance the budget and make up for the millions lost, they are looking into everything, from tax increases to staffing changes.

“You don’t make up $6.9 million, so that has direct impact on taxes. Ultimately we have to go to taxpayers and ask them to foot the bill on these cuts,” said Dr. Morton. “We need to look at full position control and see where we can trim and cut into this deficit. It’s concerning. It’s definitely concerning for us.”

Students said they are worried how the cut in funding will impact special education, mental health resources, and class sizes.

"I already go to a school where it's sometimes impossible to raise your hand or talk in a class with so many kids. I'm thinking how that problem is going to be exasperated," Gia Gupta, a student at Cherry Hill High School East, said.

The education association is worried about teacher recruitment and retention. Parents have concerns as well.

"I fear that staff jobs will be lost. That open positions currently on the table are scrapped, that extracurriculars for our students are scrapped," the district's PTA chair Kristen Viglietta told NBC10.

Cherry Hill’s funding cut comes as New Jersey’s governor announced a “record” school funding increase. Under Gov. Phil Murphy's proposed state budget, 423 school districts would see increased funding, 15 would get flat funding and 140 would see cuts. Cherry Hill's cut is the second highest in the state.

According to a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Education, changes in state aid from year to year are affected by factors including enrollment, number of students with limited English proficiency, number of special education students. Property value and income also play a role in determining how much aid each district receives.

“That doesn’t really speak to some of the challenges we are facing with our student body and I think some people would be surprised to learn just how diverse our student body is,” Miriam Stern, board of education president, told lawmakers Wednesday.

Dr. Morton shared statistics on the district’s student body with the budget committee. He said that the enrollment of English language learners has increased by 266% over the course of the last five years. Approximately 2,000 students receive special education resources, Dr. Morton said, and just below 20% of the total student population qualifies for free and reduced lunch.

“The community is extremely diverse. There definitely are pockets of affluence, but when you look at the community comprehensively,” said Dr. Morton. “Our community is hardworking, blue-collar community that relies on our schools for support.”

Legislators thanked the students and other community members for testifying and acknowledged that Cherry Hill is in a unique situation. Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin, (D) Newark, said while they can’t promise to fix the issue, “as a legislative body on both sides of the aisle, we are going to try to figure it out and be as helpful as we can be.”

Cherry Hill is not the only South Jersey school district facing a cut in state aid. Lenape Regional High School District and Haddon Township are among the 140 districts statewide slated to see their state aid decrease from the year prior.

Dr. Morton said district superintendents continue to work together and advocate for a short-term solution. In the long term, they are also advocating for a change in New Jersey’s school funding formula.