NJ Spotlight to published the following article on May 6, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
AID PAYMENTS DUE TO SCHOOLS MAY BEAR BRUNT OF STATE BUDGET CRUNCH
JOHN MOONEY | MAY 6, 2014Delay or elimination of some payments may be one way Christie administration tries to close $800 million gap
With the state facing an $800 million shortfall in its fiscal 2014 budget, there are only so many places that the money can be found to close the gap — and state aid to schools is among the most obvious.
After all, state education aid makes up more than one-third of the overall budget, totaling more than $12.8 billion.
But in a sometimes testy hearing before the Assembly budget committee yesterday, acting Education Commissioner David Hespe offered few clues about whether the answer might simply be delaying school-aid payment until the next fiscal year or eliminating the aid payments outright — or something in between.