TRENTON, N.J. — Assembly Republican Leader John DiMaio has introduced legislation aimed at reducing school tax costs by cracking down on students who enroll in districts using false addresses, a practice commonly referred to as “boundary hopping.”
DiMaio said the proposal is intended to ease pressure on local property taxpayers as school taxes continue to drive record-high tax bills across New Jersey. His bill, A6265, would make it easier for school districts and municipalities to verify student residency and identify cases in which families enroll children in districts where they do not live or pay taxes.
“It costs taxpayers an average of $28,500 just to educate one student in a Warren County public school district. Even if there are only a handful of students attending a school in a district where their parents don’t live or pay taxes, those costs quickly add up. That burden then gets unfairly placed on the local school taxpayer,” said DiMaio, R-Warren.
Property taxes in New Jersey reached an average of $10,095 last year, with roughly half of that amount dedicated to funding public schools. In some municipalities, school taxes account for as much as 80% of a homeowner’s property tax bill. Statewide, residents paid more than $18 billion in school taxes last year, an increase of about $500 million from the previous year.
Under DiMaio’s bill, school districts would be required to enter into shared services agreements with municipalities where students reside. Districts would prepare an annual report listing the addresses of all enrolled students, which municipalities would then review to verify residency. Districts would be notified if an address cannot be confirmed.
“Boundary hopping carries consequences beyond just costs,” DiMaio said. “It also takes resources away from students and leads to overcrowding. This is especially problematic today when non-urban districts are being forced to increase classroom sizes, close schools and cut programs because of drastic year-after-year state funding cuts.”
The issue is not new. A 2015 Asbury Park Press report found that some school districts hired private investigators to verify student addresses and recover tuition costs from families who illegally enrolled children out of district. One source described boundary hopping as “extremely common” and estimated that at least one-half of 1% of students were attending schools outside their home districts. If that estimate holds today, nearly 7,000 students statewide may be enrolled in the wrong district.
Current law requires that a parent or guardian primarily reside within a school district’s boundaries for a child to attend that district’s schools. Students generally lose eligibility if their family moves out of the district. New Jersey’s Interdistrict Public School Choice Program allows approved districts to enroll nonresident students at no cost to families, but participation requires an application process. There are 119 choice districts approved statewide for the upcoming school year.
“There is a process parents must follow if they need to send their child to a different district that ensures costs are covered and opportunities are available,” DiMaio said. “Falsifying records to send a child to a different school because it’s more convenient, a better performing district, or has a good sports program, is harmful to students who actually live in the district and the local taxpayers bearing the burden. This bill makes it easier for school districts to get the problem under control and rein in costs.”
