State-Aid Cuts, Uncertain Future Loom Over Cherry Hill School Budget Vote

CHERRY HILL, NJ — The Cherry Hill school board is slated to vote Tuesday on adopting a $256.1 million district budget.

The vote comes as the Cherry Hill School District reaches a second-straight year of state-aid cuts and worries about its longterm future to obtain that funding.

The board voted March 11 to introduce the $256.1 million budget, which includes about $201.5 million in local taxes. That would increase property taxes by $179.59 on the average assessed home of $227,000.

Cuts would include the elimination of 19 support (non-teaching) positions and reducing educational-contracting services, officials said at the March 11 school board meeting.

District middle schools would also stop organizing students into "teams" — groups of students who share the same set of teachers.

• Read more: Tax Hike, Job Cuts In School Budget Proposed For Cherry Hill

Cherry Hill schools are slated to receive $28,592,928 in state aid for the 2025-26 school year — a reduction of nearly $4 million from this year's total.

With the state's methods for determine how much funding each district receives, Cherry Hill could be looking at even less financial support from Trenton beyond this year, says Assistant Superintendent Lynn Shugars.

"We need to start having conversations during non-budget time about what kinds of fundamental changes are we going to have to make if that is in fact Cherry Hill's new reality," Shugars said in a video about the district's budget and the state-aid reductions.

• Read more: Why State Aid Cuts Could Be Longterm For Cherry Hill Schools

Much like last year, Cherry Hill's school community has mobilized in efforts to obtain additional funding from the state.

The year-to-year fluctuations in state aid make it "nearly impossible" for districts like Cherry Hill to develop longterm financial strategies, the district superintendent said April 10 at the State Senate's Budget and Appropriations Committee meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton also said there are flaws in some of the state's metrics for determining state aid for each district, such as district income and property values.

"These metrics paint a misleading picture, implying an equitable distribution of wealth among residents, which is far from the truth," Morton said in Trenton. "Furthermore, using assessed property values as a wealth indicator overlooks the fundamental reality that equity in a home is inaccessible unless the property is sold. This flawed approach exacerbates inequities and creates an inaccurate representation of a community's ability to support its schools."

Cherry Hill's Board of Education meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Arthur Lewis Administration Building (45 Ranoldo Terrace). Click the event on the district calendar for instructions on accessing the meeting on Zoom or by phone.