ELC News - Students In High Needs Districts Bear Brunt Of State Aid Cuts

NJ school districts serving high numbers of poor students are hit the hardest by Governor Christopher Christie’s mid-year cut of $476 million in state school aid. The Governor issued an order last week ordering the aid cuts and directing districts to use "rainy day" surplus and reserve funds to cover current operating expenses for the remainder of this school year.

An ELC analysis shows that 40% of the $476 million cut – or $189 million – is from 89 of the 93 districts classified by the State Education Department as "high needs." These districts have student poverty levels above 40% and are not meeting established academic performance levels. Many of these districts, especially urban districts, have student poverty rates above 60%. The students in these districts are not only poor, but overwhelmingly students of color. Almost 80% of students in high needs districts are Black and Latino.

For a complete breakdown of the state aid cuts by various district groupings, from the poorest districts to the wealthiest, along with the high needs districts, click here.

In addition to the taking the largest overall cut, the high needs districts bear the greatest aid loss on a per pupil basis:

Average Aid Cuts Per Pupil (weighted by district enrollment)

High needs districts are more heavily dependent on state aid given their low wealth and intense poverty. Some of these districts, such as Jersey City, Newark and Paterson, are the biggest in the state, with large overall budgets. As a result, many high needs districts put away funds in surplus and reserve accounts anticipating either no or minimal increases in state aid or local revenue next year (2010-11). The Governor’s decision to cut state aid this school year means high needs districts will no longer have rainy day funds to support educational programs next year, and will have to lay off staff and reduce and eliminate programs in order to balance their budgets in 2010-11.