TRENTON, N.J. — Assemblyman Alex Sauickie and Assemblywoman Aura Dunn testified Monday before the Senate Education Committee in support of legislation that would provide additional state aid to school districts in municipalities subject to Highlands and Pinelands development restrictions.
The proposal, a Senate companion to bipartisan Assembly bill A4860, received a discussion-only hearing. The legislation would provide supplemental aid to school districts that have lost funding under New Jersey’s school funding formula and operate in communities where development is restricted by state preservation requirements.
Sauickie said districts in the Highlands and Pinelands regions face challenges because land-use restrictions limit opportunities for new development and the associated property tax revenue that can support schools.
“For years, New Jersey has asked Highlands and Pinelands communities to preserve land, protect drinking water and safeguard environmental resources that benefit the entire state,” Sauickie (R-Ocean) said. “These communities stepped up and did the right thing. Now the state must do the right thing for their schools.”
Sauickie argued that the state’s 2018 school funding reform law, known as S2, assumed municipalities could offset reductions in state aid through growth in local property tax revenue.
“The state cannot tell a municipality it cannot develop its land and then expect it to replace lost school aid through growth-generated property taxes,” he said. “Those two policies are fundamentally incompatible.”
Under the bill, additional aid would be available to districts with more than 500 students that have lost funding under S2 and are located in municipalities where at least 25% of the land is preserved under Highlands or Pinelands protections. The aid would be tied to preserved acreage and subject to a cap.
Dunn said the legislation seeks to address funding challenges faced by communities that have accepted development restrictions intended to benefit the broader state.
“These districts have done everything the state asks of them,” Dunn said. “They budget responsibly. They operate transparently. They make painful decisions in public meetings, under the scrutiny of parents and taxpayers who care deeply about their schools. The least the state can do is treat them with the same honesty and fairness.”
According to the lawmakers, communities including Jefferson, West Milford, Ringwood, Shamong, Plumsted, Jackson and Lacey have experienced years of state aid reductions while facing limits on expanding their local tax bases.
Local officials, school leaders and advocates from across the Highlands and Pinelands regions also testified in support of the measure.
The lawmakers said funding reductions have led some districts to raise property taxes, close school buildings, reduce staffing and cut educational programs.
“New Jersey families can handle hard truths,” Dunn said. “What they can’t handle are surprises that blow holes in school budgets, force school closures and leave parents wondering what gets cut next.”
Sauickie and Dunn said they plan to continue seeking bipartisan support for the legislation as it moves through the legislative process.
