Morris Plains Gets More School Aid, Still Only Half '09 Amount

The Morris Plains school district is now slated to get $144,172 more in state aid than it previously expected for 2011-212—bringing the figure to $465,716. But school officials don't yet know how they'll be able to use the extra money.

That means the district's getting $288,345 more than it did in 2010-2011—but still less than half of what it got in 2009-2010. That's because of massive cuts to state aid made for communities around New Jersey in 2010-2011.

"This year, New Jersey increased state aid to school districts by $850 million over last year, restoring every dollar of the cuts we were forced to make last year and increasing aid by an additional $30 million," Gov. Chris Christie said. "We are keeping faith with our commitment to New Jersey’s children and families, spending more money per pupil on New Jersey’s students than almost any other state in the country. Now is the time to complement the dollars spent with real education reform to bring a focus on student learning, accountability and results."

But "restoring every dollar" doesn't appear to hold true in Morris Plains, which received $985,690 in 2009-2010.

School district officials had already expected a boost of $144,173 over 2010-11, when announced budget figures earlier this year, but the administration has now doubled that increase. That pattern was repeated in several suburban districts throughout the state.

Morris Plains superintendent of schools Dennis Mack, reached by phone, said that he had not yet received an official announcement on state aid to the district. He was unsure then, on whether the newest numbers included—or were in addition to—$201,400 in Special Education Extraordinary Aid that recently was committed to the Morris Plains School District. These funds are designed to help school districts that have special needs children whose out-of-district schooling cost their districts more than $45,000 each per year. 

Mack said he also would need to look further into the reason why all $465,716 of the state aid listed for Morris Plains appears to be marked as "Special Education Aid." Funds for some schools, such as the Morris School District, were spread over several budget categories. A breakdown of the district's state aid is below.

"Once it's put into a category, it's difficult to get approval to move it around," he said, adding that, since the district has high expenses for special education anyway, such a stricture was not likely to be a problem.

Most districts are being strongly encouraged to apply newly announced funds to tax relief, NJSpotlight.org has reported.

“The administration strongly encourages using this additional aid to lower taxes and make the important step toward new and effective management of our schools that focuses on improving student achievement, rather than increased spending," Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said in a statement.

The district was rocked in 2009 when its aid numbers for the 2010-2011 school year were announced.

"The state of N.J. took away $800,000 in state aid and nearly all of our reserve funds–the cash cushion school districts keep in case of emergency," board member Lee Lusardi Connor said in December of 2010. Lusardi has since become the board's president.

As a result of the that reduction in aid, borough residents shouldered 97 percent of this school year's $13.5 million operating budget.

New Aid Figures for Morris Plains

• K-12 2010-2011 Total Aid: $177,371
• Governor's Budget 2011-2012 Total Aid: $321,544
• Additional Aid 2011-2012 Approp. Act: $144,172
• Equalized Aid: $0
• Education Adequacy Aid: $0
• Choice Aid: $0
• Transportation Aid: $0
• Special Education Categorical Aid: $465,716
• Security Aid: $0
• Adjustment Aid: $0
• Revised 2011-2012 Total Aid: $465,716
• One Year Aid Change: $288,345