A4161 creates the Stabilized School Budget Aid Grant Program to help school districts facing state aid cuts in the 2024-2025 school year. Eligible districts will receive grants covering 45% of their aid reductions, with $44.7 million allocated for funding. It also allows districts that lost aid since 2020-2021 to increase property taxes without voter approval.
The New Jersey State Senate passed A4161 on March 18, 2024 by a vote of 24 to 9. We have assigned pluses to the nays because education is not a proper function of government, and taxpayers should not be forced to fund schooling for other people’s children. This bill further entrenches government control over education by propping up failing school districts with grants—an unjust redistribution of wealth that picks winners and losers rather than allowing competition to drive improvement. Additionally, A4161 makes it easier for bureaucrats to increase the financial burden on homeowners. We encourage parents to remove their children from government-run schools and seek sound alternatives, such as homeschooling or patriotic private institutions such as FreedomProject Academy, which operate without government funding.
