Slowing revenue, pressure on student enrollments and rising costs have combined to lead the rating agency Moody’s to issue a negative outlook for K-12 public schools in 2025. School districts in Cape May County are not likely to prove the agency wrong.
From fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2025, the county’s school districts have lost more than $23.5 million in state aid. Aid levels on average are now 36% less than they were in fiscal year 2018.
Two county districts had referendum measures that would have provided additional tax levy funding overwhelmingly rejected by the voters in September. One of those districts, Dennis Township, has announced that its budget no longer has the ability to provide the state’s constitutionally required thorough and efficient education for township students.
The loss in state aid was not uniform across the board, with some districts hit much more severely by the cuts. Dennis Township lost 76% of the state aid it received in fiscal year 2018. For Wildwood that number was 76%, and for the Lower Township Elementary and Lower Cape May Regional districts the number was 60% and 63%, respectively.
Adding to the problem, according to the Moody’s forecast, district staffing levels have increased over the period thanks to pandemic emergency aid that has now run its course. The Moody’s report also projects that the number of students with disabilities will rise, placing added burdens on district budgets.
Legislation signed in May grants property tax levy cap flexibility to districts that have witnessed an overall decline in state aid in recent budget cycles.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
