Budget shock: State aid to Woodbridge cut by 33 percent
Commissioner Bret Schundler listens to Gov. Chris Christie deliver his first budget address in the Assembly Chamber of the State House on Tuesday. Staff photo: Tanya Breen
The Woodbridge school district will lose more than 33 percent of its state aid under Gov. Chris Christie's budget plan, an amount that will require district officials here to cut about $15.1 million from next year's school budget.
“What he has done to Woodbridge is criminal,” superintendent John Crowe said after the figures were released this afternoon.
“This is more than twice than what was in our worst-case scenario,” he said. “This shows the governor gave no consideration to spending relative to adequacy and no consideration to districts that have been chronically underfunded.”
The 33 percent loss amounts to $8.7 million, or less than 5 percent of the district's $184.5 million budget. But the district will have to eliminate more than that -- more like $15.1 million -- to meet rising fixed costs while staying under a 4 percent cap on property tax increases.
Anticipating a severe cut to state aide, the Woodbridge school board two months ago began brainstorming on what to cut. This week, their list reached just over $8 million, based on a loss of state aid amounting to just 10 percent. That list includes shedding 200 employees, eliminating all busing, cutting music and arts programs and all elementary, middle school and freshmen athletics.
Look at both lists here and here.
Officials have until Friday to come up with $7 million in further cuts before the board can submit a preliminary budget to the county superintendent.
“We are really not sure what we can present to the board,” Crowe said. “We really need to spend the next couple of days working assiduously trying to deal with the complete lack of concern that the governor has shown our students and taxpayers.
“Don’t believe for one moment that this is a shared sacrifice. Woodbridge is one of four districts in Middlesex County that has been continually underfunded by more than 50 percent each year. We are being asked to take a harder hit than many districts that are funded closer to their full funding.”
Woodbridge was the second hardest-hit district in the county. Edison lost more than half of its aid, or $9.7 million. East Brunswick lost 32 percent, or $6.6 million.
Old Bridge, which gets twice as much state aid per student as Woodbridge does, lost 15 percent, or $6.7 million.
Some wealthy districts, or districts were state aid amounted to less than 5 percent of their budget, lost all their aid.
But Woodbridge is far from wealthy. As a class "DE" school, it is in the bottom half among county districts in the state's A-to-I socioeconomic scale. A quarter of the district's students are on free or reduced lunch and the district's per student spending is $2,000 less than the state average.
The district of 24 schools serves 13,500 students.
FULL COVERAGE:
• Gov. Christie has spoken, but Woodbridge schools waiting on budget details
• Woodbridge teachers won’t renegotiate contract, union president says
• List of possible Woodbridge school budget cuts approaches $10 million
• EDITORIAL: Change aid plan to treat school districts more equally
• Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac, schools superintendent oppose cutting state aid
• Woodbridge school officials won't rule out closings if state slashes aid
cookie, and 
moontheloon are discussing.
moontheloon 12:52 pm on March 18, 2010 Permalink
Maybe you guy’s BOE (uppermanagement) should look at YOURSELVES your the people making the REALLY big bucks. and the overpaid janitors, 70K a year for unskilled labor is OUTRAGOUS.
cookie 3:34 am on March 19, 2010 Permalink
Schundler, the Republican who sold himself to the Jersey City voters as someone who had next ideas, had none, and left the city as bad or worse than he found it, although we have a slick new fountain that leaks and a plaza in Journal Square full of cheap, broken slates that probably put lots of dollars in a Republican contractor’s pocket, and then went on to play Mr. Conservative to win the GOP nomination for governor and then got a no-qualifications job as a college administrator, and now is a no-experience education commissioner, listens to Mr. Drip Dry Republican deliver his short-sighted ruin-everything-that’s-been-working budget speech. This is the end of the world, folks. The “can’t do’s” are in power. A recall movement is the only weapon available, and we must use it. NOW.
cookie 3:47 am on March 19, 2010 Permalink
BTW, the biggest percentage cuts to Hudson County school districts, as Christie judge tax rates and wealth in the districts, are Hoboken and Secaucus, and they’re losing just less than 25 percent. Jersey City, Bayonne and several others are being cut only 17-plus percent. At 33 percent, you middle-class folks in Woodbridge are being savaged. Goodbye to arts education and a lot more. Someone has to speak up to this ideologue, who refuses to increase the gasoline tax but is okay with charging 25 percent more to ride a bus. His priorities are insane. Speak up, middle-class New Jersey! You’re the only voters Christie will listen to.
Editorial: Cowardly lawmakers won’t stop underfunding Woodbridge schools | Woodbridge, NJ 5:04 pm on November 16, 2010 Permalink
[...] Despite across-the-board budget cuts for suburban districts, municipalities such as Woodbridge got hit with bigger cuts. [...]