-Written by an Educator in the District
On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill delivered her first budget address, which includes a proposed $12.4 Billion investment in K-12 education for 2026-27, which is a 3.1% increase ($372 million increase) over the current year budget. What was found out more recently was how much each school district would receive.
The main three pillars of state aid are transportation aid, special education aid, and security aid. This budget, like last year’s budget, caps the decrease in school aid to 3% (some districts experienced a greater than 3% each year under former-Governor Phil Murphy). Whereas, some other districts used to see a 12%+ increase under Governor Murphy, which is now mostly capped at a 6% increase. According to the NJDOE, a three-year average of property wealth and income is used based on property wealth and income. Additionally, NJDOE uses actual district special education enrollment numbers to determine aid.
Data for all districts can be found in this spreadsheet provided by the state.
NJ21st seven-district dashboard:
| District | 2026-27 proposed funding amount | Percentage change from prior year | Dollar gain from prior year | Approx. state aid per pupil |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westfield | $9,434,114 | +6% | +$534,006 | $1,578 |
| Millburn | $6,646,298 | -3% | -$205,556 | $1,445 |
| Chatham | $5,794,304 | +6% | +$327,980 | $1,632 |
| Summit | $5,026,229 | -3% | -$155,450 | $1,257 |
| Madison | $3,851,976 | +5.01% | +$183,808 | $1,550 |
| Berkeley Heights | $3,345,078 | +4.5% | +$143,529 | $1,370 |
| New Providence | $3,043,431 | -3% | -$94,127 | $1,295 |
Westfield
Millburn
Chatham
Summit
Madison
Berkeley Heights
New Providence
Compared to last year (from 2024-25 to 2025-26), Westfield and Chatham are receiving the same 6% increase in state funding. Millburn, Summit, and New Providence are receiving the same 3% decrease in state funding. Madison (+5.01%) and Berkeley Heights (+4.5%) are also receiving a proposed increase going into 2026-27, but not as great as the 6% increase from 2024-25 to 2025-26.
There is no clear trend in overall population growth or decrease in this state aid, as there are other factors that go into calculating state aid (transportation, special education, security). Berkeley Heights has had a decrease in students over the past 10 years (from approximately 2,700 in 2015-16 to approximately 2,300 currently), yet there is a two-year state aid increase. Livingston (see below) has definitely had an uptick in population (a new building is being acquired to house Preschool students) and two elementary schools have temporary additions), yet Livingston is seeing a decrease in staid aid. Scotch Plains-Fanwood (see below) having a 6% increase makes more sense also having to acquire a new building via a 2025 referendum for Preschool (to make more room in their current elementary school for K-5 students, similar to Livingston).
Other neighboring districts’ proposed 2026-27 aid funding:
| District | 2026-27 proposed funding amount | Percentage change from prior year | Dollar gain from prior year | Approx. state aid per pupil |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotch Plains-Fanwood | $9,576,961 | +6% | +$542,092 | $1,663 |
| Mountainside | $1,626,733 | +0.60% | +$9,767 | $2,155 |
| Livingston | $9,483,132 | -0.52% | -$49,237 | $1,517 |
| Basking Ridge (Bernards) | $7,774,673 | -3% | -$240,454 | $1,637 |
| Cranford | $5,709,634 | +6% | +$323,187 | $1,523 |
| Bridgewater-Raritan | $15,349,922 | +1.91% | +$287,879 | $1,861 |
| Springfield | $4,538,102 | +7.2% | +$304,832 | $2,028 |
Scotch Plains-Fanwood
Mountainside
Livingston
Basking Ridge (Bernards)
Cranford
Bridgewater-Raritan
Springfield
Please note that these funding numbers are part of the proposed budget and are not final until the final budget is passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor prior to the June 30th deadline.
Prior NJ21st article:
2024-25 state aid (published in March 2024)
2025-26 state aid (published in March 2025)
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