New Jersey school districts across the state face severe budget cuts as the School Funding Reform Act redistributes millions, leaving schools like Colonia High School with larger class sizes, eliminated positions, and reduced resources.
Woodbridge Township School District will receive $123.5 million in state aid for 2025-26, marking a $3.8 million reduction from last year. Additionally, the district withheld $9 million from Colonia High School internally, redirecting funds to other township schools. Subsequently, 175 districts statewide face similar cuts while 392 districts receive increased funding.
Some New Jersey schools face such severe constraints that supply vendors refuse shipments due to unpaid bills. Math teacher and Woodbridge Union Representative Andrew Tufts of Colonia expressed concern about this possibility. “I know we are always a school district that pretty much goes right to the wire with our funding, and so any loss is a loss,” Tufts said.
Redistribution Creates Winners and Losers
The cuts stem from New Jersey’s effort to correct funding inequities. Newark Public Schools gained $75 million, bringing total state aid to $1.326 billion, while historically over aided districts like Woodbridge absorb reductions. Moreover, 17 districts including Newark, Paterson, Elizabeth, and Trenton receive half of all state education funding despite serving only 19.8 percent of students.
Classroom Impact at Colonia
At Colonia, ESL teacher Miss Sanchez’s class sizes doubled from approximately 12 students to 24 students after positions were eliminated. “She’s one person who’s trying to communicate with English speakers and Spanish speakers, and all those Asian languages,” Tufts said. “It’s just not possible for one person to really effectively educate someone at that level.”
Physical education teacher Jennifer Blash reported minimal direct impact so far but noticed absent equipment purchases. “I think that our district tries not to cut staff and things like that, but they’ll cut in other areas,” Blash said. “Maybe we won’t get as much money in athletics for uniforms.”
Regarding budget reductions, Blash acknowledged economic realities facing all districts. “There are places, probably, that we can trim some spending,” she said. “Sometimes people need to learn how to operate with less and do more.”
However, she expressed skepticism about learning impacts. “The students who care are still gonna want to learn, and the students who don’t care are still gonna not care,” Blash said.
Statewide Funding Reform Continues
Statewide, Governor Phil Murphy implemented a three percent cap on reductions and six percent cap on increases for 2025-26 to prevent dramatic budget swings. Nevertheless, the previous year saw 140 districts face nearly $106 million in combined cuts, requiring emergency legislation allowing property tax increases beyond the standard two percent cap.
Tufts emphasized concerns about long-term effects as elementary students lose support services. “It’s really like two, three, five years down the line where we start to see the snowball effect of not having that money,” Tufts said.
Colonia serves 1,359 students with nearly 30 percent qualifying for free lunch. The district operates 26 schools serving approximately 14,000 students across Woodbridge Township.
