As the 2025-26 school year approaches, schools will face growing challenges in maintaining their facilities, covering utility costs, and meeting the needs of thousands of students. Although this year’s school funding for New Jersey was increased overall, over a hundred districts received cuts in their state aid as a result of changes in the budget.
But, how about Edison? Despite receiving a decrease in budget, Edison Township Public Schools is not significantly affected by sweeping budget changes. Experiencing a 3% reduction in state aid, Edison still has close to $100 million to work with, but federal unpredictability could easily cause this number to change.
Although the budget cuts may seem insignificant for this year, budget cuts over the years will significantly decrease the number of opportunities that Edison High School kids can receive. Special education programs and renovations are just a few opportunities that high school students lose with budget cuts. Reducing such programs leads to less inclusive schools, with programs like ESL, disability therapy, and counseling limited.
Many other important programs are also at risk of being shut down due to continuous budget cuts. Other schools statewide that have received budget cuts have removed music, art, and sports programs from their funding, limiting students’ chances even more.
Townships like Cherry Hill, Middletown, and Hillsborough face significant budget cuts, and some districts are even considering closing schools and cutting jobs to keep up with the loss of money. According to North Jersey, Passaic Public Schools plans to cut over fifty jobs in its educational department due to financial struggles.
On the contrary, other townships are benefiting from the budget changes, with their overall student fund increasing. Neighboring cities like Newark, Plainfield, and Jersey City have seen increases in school funding ranging from $30 million to over $100 million. Most of this extra money is spent on chartering schools, increasing staff salaries, and supporting academic initiatives.
“Having a big district, we’ll be able to sit and absorb the budget cut and keep going with our programs,” said EHS principal Mr. Charles Ross. “Getting a new orchestra room, redoing a lobby, and hopefully some new classrooms will still be in reach.”
Although reassuring, time will tell if Ross’s outlook may be overlooking the bigger picture. Enduring constant budget cuts now increases the chance that those cuts to have negative effects later. Even if Edison can still move forward with renovations, continuous losses like the proposed ones this year can empty the district’s fund and opportunities for schools. Although Edison receives a considerable amount of money due to its large population, it won’t be able to escape these constant cuts forever.
“Edison had a 3% loss in funding for the upcoming school year, but their proposed budget for next year does not increase taxes,” said history teacher Ms. Dawn Penny. “They have plans to expand programs. This would indicate that things would not change from this year to next year.”
While Penny suggests stability, even a 3% loss compounded over the years has a high chance of having a serious negative impact on Edison. Continued 3% budget cuts will result in a loss of 15-20 million dollars, cutting close to a quarter of the total budget. In his recent budget proposals, Governor Murphy has focused on providing less fortunate cities with a higher budget plan. Edison, with an average household income of over $100,000 (150% over the metro median), will likely receive future decreases in funding, limiting educational opportunities for students and school plans for staff.
