TRENTON, N.J. – State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon is accusing Gov. Mikie Sherrill of misleading the public over school funding after comments she made during a recent appearance on News 12’s “Ask Governor Sherrill.”
In a sharply worded statement released this week, the Monmouth County Republican blasted Sherrill for defending continued limits on increases in state education aid, arguing the administration is unfairly shortchanging school districts that have endured years of funding reductions.
O’Scanlon took issue with Sherrill’s suggestion that removing the state’s current cap on statutory school aid increases would primarily benefit a small number of communities. He argued that lifting the cap could provide relief to districts throughout New Jersey that have struggled under the state’s school funding formula.
“Governor Sherrill’s comments on News 12 were as misleading as they were condescending,” O’Scanlon said. “Lifting the cap can be done in a way that would benefit school districts across New Jersey that have spent years getting crushed by arbitrary aid cuts.”
The senator also accused the administration of selectively applying the school funding formula. According to O’Scanlon, state officials previously justified cuts by pointing to the formula, but are now ignoring it when districts stand to regain aid.
O’Scanlon highlighted several districts he says would receive additional funding if the state eliminated the current 6% cap on aid increases. Under the Republican proposal, Pitman Borough would receive roughly $1.69 million more in aid, while Logan Township, Eatontown Borough, Neptune Township, and Ocean Township in Monmouth County would also see increases ranging from $250,000 to $800,000.
The dispute reflects ongoing frustration among lawmakers and local school officials over New Jersey’s school aid system, which has triggered repeated battles in Trenton as districts face budget uncertainty, staffing cuts, and rising property taxes.
At the moment, approximately 7% of the state budget is dedicated to only ten school districts.
O’Scanlon argued the state has the financial ability to restore additional aid without increasing taxes, citing improved revenue projections and what he described as excessive state spending.
“The Administration rejected those ideas because protecting politically connected spending matters more than protecting our students, teachers and hard-working New Jersey families,” he said.
The senator also criticized what he called the state’s reliance on “pork” spending in the annual budget process.
Last month, O’Scanlon and fellow Republican Sen. Carmen Amato Jr. sent a letter to Sherrill urging her administration to fully restore school aid that remains capped under the governor’s proposed budget. The lawmakers argued that updated revenue projections and Republican-backed budget proposals make the additional aid financially achievable.
