Schools
$47K Of State Aid Restored To West Morris Regional School Budget
West Morris Regional High School District state aid cuts will be reduced this year thanks to a new bill that is headed to the full Senate.
MENDHAM, NJ — The West Morris Regional High School District which was facing a $72,131 loss in state aid is set to get some relief under a $102 million deal reached late Thursday, State Sen. Vin Gopal confirmed Friday.
The deal proposes restoring 66 percent of the funding that was set to be cut to 150 schools in the state. For the West Morris Regional High School District, that means $47,606 less to be cut.
However, even under the deal, the regional high school district will still lose $24,525 in state aid.
Find out what's happening in Mendham-Chesterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Vin Gopal and Andrew Zwicker, allots $102 million to districts that faced severe budget cuts under Gov. Phil Murphy's proposed budget for 2023-24.
The announcement comes after the district released its preliminary budget, which includes dozens of cuts and school redistricting.
Find out what's happening in Mendham-Chesterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
With state aid cuts less severe now, it is not immediately clear how this will affect the potential budget for the upcoming school year.
The tentative total expenditures for the West Morris Regional High School District in the 2023-2024 school year is $63,185,727, which is a 3.8 increase over the previous year.
A public hearing on the budget for the 2023-2024 school year will be held at the Board of Education meeting held on April 24, 2023, at 7 p.m., at the West Morris Central Media Center.
According to a statement from Murphy's office, the bill requires districts to request in writing up to 66 percent of the difference between the aid they received in 2022-23 and the aid amounts proposed in 2023-24.
"All eligible districts that submit a request to the Commissioner of Education will receive this additional funding, and must include a written plan indicating how they intend to fund operations in future years when this aid is no longer available," the statement said.
The new agreement is spelled out in Senate bill S3732, which is headed to the full Senate after quickly passing the Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday afternoon.
This story contains reporting by Patch’s Karen Wall and Michelle Rotuno-Johnson.
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