Schools

Brick Schools Get $1.3M State Aid Increase

Figures released Wednesday evening

The Brick Township school district will receive $33,579,430 in state aid for the 2011-12 school year, an increase of $1,360,532 over the amount the district received for the 2010-11 school year.

The Department of Education released state aid figures around 5 p.m. Wednesday, one day after Gov. Chris Christie addressed a joint session of the state legislature, announcing that his would include a bump in state aid to every school district statewide. Last year, the Brick school district lost $6.8 million in state aid, representing a 15 percent cut, according to James Edwards, the district business administrator.

The Board of Education is set to discuss state aid figures at its regular meeting Thursday, set for 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Middle School. Board President Kim Terebush was not immediately available for comment Wednesday evening.

Find out what's happening in Brickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Board member John Talty said he was pleased to hear of the increase in aid for the district, as he had been expecting an additional cut this year.

"It's now a question of what we're going to use the money for," said Talty. "I'd like to see the bulk of that $1.3 million go directly to the kids."

Find out what's happening in Brickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Talty said the board should "absolutely" have a discussion on placing middle school sports programs into the 2011-12 budget. Middle school sports were eliminated from the budget last year, and were on a so-called "pay to play" basis.

Edwards, the business administrator, has previously said state aid figures were crucial in determining the budget for the 2011-12 school year. The board has set a special meeting for March 1, where it plans to adopt a tentative budget. That budget can be tweaked by the board until a final budget must be adopted March 29. Residents will get to vote on the tax levy to support the school budget April 27.


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