New Jersey Department of Education

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School Finance

2016-17 State Aid Summaries

School Funding Scenarios – FY2017

During this budget season, the Department has received inquiries from legislators and education organizations regarding the outcome of alternative funding scenarios.  To assist in informing the conversation, for informational purposes, the Department is making available an additional funding scenario.  Below are descriptions of the Governor's funding proposal and the additional scenario.

Spreadsheet with district level detail of funding scenarios.

Governor's Proposed Funding for FY2017

In February 2016, the Governor released his FY2017 budget proposal including state aid to schools. The proposed state aid allocations were determined by running the SFRA formula for the first time in years, and relied upon the costs and weights in the FY2017 Educational Adequacy Report (found here). Formula aid increases were prorated to match the availability of state revenues, and no district lost aid. The Governor's proposal also ensures that every district will receive an increase of at least $10 per pupil.

Legislature's Model

The calculations under this scenario result in an estimate of what funding would look like for each district assuming the SFRA model, as requested by the Legislature, were fully funded. This model is determined using the base amount, weights, and all other adjustments to the SFRA included in the FY2017 Educational Adequacy Report, but substitutes the weights for students who are at-risk, limited English proficient, or both with the weights requested by the Legislature. It is important to note that, because the formula allocations in this model are not prorated according to available state revenues, this scenario would require nearly $1 billion dollars in additional state funding compared to the Governor's proposed state aid.