How Will Jersey City Respond To School Aid Cuts? Superintendent Responds

JERSEY CITY, NJ — New Jersey's Department of Education released its funding figures for the next school year on Thursday, and the Jersey City schools will receive the biggest cut in the state.

The district will get $4 million less in aid next year than this year. Percentage-wise, though, it's not as big a cut as many others. The Jersey City schools serve around 27,000 kids, with a $1 billion budget. See those figures here.

Superintendent Norma Fernandez told Patch that there could be ramifications, but they hope to impact classes as little as possible.

"The district has kept a balanced budget despite the reduction in state funding during the last two years thanks to the maintenance of equity funds and Equalization Aid," Fernandez said. "The reductions in funding together with the rising cost of benefits, salaries, and utilities leave us with a shortfall of approximately $142 million."

She added, "To address this deficit, we will make some personnel decisions and utilize the bank cap. Our goal is to impact the classroom as little as possible."

175 districts will grapple with cuts to funding next year. 392 districts will receive increased funding and seven will get the same funding.

The Cape May City Schools are seeing the largest percentage cut, 27.29 percent. Newark Public Schools are getting a $75 million increase in aid.

See the list of every district and its aid here.