Brick School District Gets Bump in State Aid

Brick's school district will receive a 2.3 percent increase in state aid under Gov. Chris Christie's proposed budget.

Trenton will kick $35,754,648 into the school district's operating budget this year, a total of $814,686 more than last year.

State aid figures were released late Thursday; district offices were closed and administrators were not available to comment.

Board of Education members will now be able to balance the 2012-13 school budget with the new figure in mind, though due to the Brick district changing its annual school election to November – rather than April, as it had been in the past – the budgeting process will change slightly this year.

The district will have to file a preliminary budget with the executive county superintendent of schools by March 5 and hold public hearings on the spending plan between March 22 and 29, but as long as the budget stays within the state's 2 percent expenditure cap, there will be no public vote.

Only if the Board of Education proposes a budget that breaks cap will a public vote take place this year.

A notable aspect of this year's budget is that Brick's so-called "adjustment aid" – which amounts to $15,056,746 – makes up the bulk of this year's overall aid increase. Adjustment aid is state money aimed at holding funding in place during a precipitous drop in enrollment or making up funding if taxpayers are not, at least according to the state, paying a high enough share of the local school budget.

Statewide, Christie's budget includes $7.8 billion in K-12 formula aid, an increase of $135 million over last year.

State School Aid 2012-13: The Breakdown

• Total aid, 2011-12: $34,939,962
• Total aid, 2012-13: $35,754,648
• Year-to-Year Change: +$814,686
• Percentage Change: +2.3 percent
• Transportation Aid (2012-13): $4,839,332
• Special Education Aid (2012-13): $5,341,631
• Security Aid (2012-13): $999,541
• Adjustment Aid (2012-13): $15,056,746