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State Budget No Help
Citizen-Dispatch staff report
The state budget for the 2003-2004 fiscal year approved by the Legislature contains a $157 million boost for school districts around the state but the amount less than half what school districts are entitled to.
Even more bad news is the fact that school districts such as Hillside may have to wait until 2005 to see their 2004 state aid. In lieu of the aid, the state has directed districts to use surplus funds or borrowed money to pay bills while they await the delayed payment.
By pushing the final state aid payment from one fiscal year to the next, the state essentially cut state aid to schools in 2003.
The New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) opposed the new budget because of its failure to fully fund state aid for schools, forcing towns like Hillside to cut programs or raise property taxes.
Even with flat funding for school districts and municipalities, the state budget boasts an increase of millions over last year.
The budget was approved by a 21-18 vote in the Senate and a 41-37-1 vote in the Assembly. All of Hillside's legislaters - Sen. Sharpe James and Assemblymen Willfredo Caraballo and William Payne - voted in the affirmative.
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