Middletown School District Gets An Extra $1.97 Million From The State (2024)

Schools

On Dec. 23, the DOE released a list of which school districts will get extra money from the state in stabilization aid.

Posted Wed, Dec 28, 2022 at 3:29 pm ET|Updated Tue, Jan 3, 2023 at 12:15 pm ET

The Middletown school district will receive $1.97 million ($1,970,000) for the 2022-23 school year.

The district does not yet know how it will spend the money, said BOE member Jacqueline Tobacco Wednesday.

Also, it still remains vague why the Middletown school district did not apply for stabilization aid in 2021, something Tobacco said at the time the district should have done.

"We didn't even bother to apply," Tobacco said last year. "We should apply for any opportunity for grants even if there's a chance we don't get it."

Middletown did not meet the criteria to apply last year, school district business administrator Amy Doherty said at the time; she said the district had money in cash reserves.

It is not clear what changed, and enabled Middletown to qualify in 2022.

"I'm very grateful for Frank's leadership in helping to secure this aid," Tobacco said Wednesday. "Almost $2 million out of the $30 million (total) distributed is a win for Middletown."

BOE president Frank Capone thanked state Sen. Vin Gopal (D) for helping to secure the funding, which Capone called "much needed."

"$1,970,000 in stabilization aid is a win for Middletown students, parents, taxpayers and stakeholders," Capone said Wednesday. "This would not be possible without working collaboratively with Education chair Senator Vin Gopal. I do not believe Middletown has ever been approved for this aid in the past, and I am proud of the collaborative effort put forth by this board and the state to bring this forward."

This comes at a time when the Middletown school district has lost millions in funding cuts from Trenton.

New Jersey school districts are now funded based on enrollment: Toms River and Middletown schools have all had drops in student enrollment, and thus received less state funding in recent years.

The Toms River superintendent told NJ.com Friday his district has lost more than $100 million and had to cut more than 100 teaching positions in the last five years. Toms River applied for $5.2 million in stabilization aid this year, and was rejected for unknown reasons. The Dept. of Education does not have to say why they approve or reject districts for stabilization aid.

However, unlike Toms River, Middletown has had increased kindergarten and elementary school enrollment in the past few years.

“Middletown submitted a strong application showing the need for stabilization aide," said state Sen. Gopal. "A great job by the Board of Education, led by Frank Capone, the superintendent (Mary Ellen Walker), business administrator (Amy Doherty) and everyone in Middletown who worked hard to secure nearly two million dollars for the school district. The Middletown BOE sprung into action the past six months, having countless meetings with stakeholders to make sure they had the best stabilization aid application possible. In addition, they are taking a number of steps towards increased enrollments in the lower grades, which will help them towards future funding."

"I also thank the Department of Education and Murphy administration for recognizing the merits of Middletown’s application in making sure Monmouth County’s largest municipality has the resources they need to succeed," said Gopal.

In total, 42 school districts across New Jersey got the stabilization aid, according to NJ.com, which the newspaper described as "happy news just before the holidays." Here is the whole list: https://www.nj.com/education/2...

On this topic: Middletown Schools See 6.8 Percent Drop In State Aid For 22-23 School Year