To the editor:
I am a member of the Hillsborough Township School Board. The opinions expressed here are my own. They are neither authorized by nor do they express the views or opinions of the Hillsborough Township School Board.
Do you remember the state aid cuts to Hillsborough for the 2010-11 school year? We lost $5 million and it was devastating. My now high school freshman was in second grade then. For the last 7 years, our state aid has not recovered. Not only has state aid been flat for 7 years, the state gives Hillsborough $1 million less state aid than it did in 2009-10! On March 15, Hillsborough learned next year’s state aid would again be flat.
Hillsborough provides a first rank education for its children because of our dedicated teachers and staff. But, with mandated and contractual expenses outpacing the 2 percent cap on the tax levy, we need help. The community can advocate for our children by writing to our governor and state legislators requesting some increase in state aid to Hillsborough for 2018-19. Please note that Hillsborough is the only district in Somerset County with flat aid.
Governor Phil Murphy, P.O. Box 001, Trenton NJ 08625 or www.state.nj.us/governor/contact
Senate President Stephen Sweeney, 935 Kings Highway, Suite 400, West Deptford, NJ 08086; SenSweeney@njleg.org
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, 569 Rahway Ave., Woodbridge, NJ 07095; AsmCoughlin@njleg.org
Hillsborough is Legislative District 16 and we are represented by:
State Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman, 36 E. Main St., Somerville, NJ 08876; SenBateman@njleg.org
Assemblyman Roy Freiman, 50 Division St., Suite 200, Somerville, NJ 08876; AsmFreiman@njleg.org
Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, 23 Orchard Rd., Suite 170, Skillman, NJ 08558; AsmZwicker@njleg.org
Thank you for advocating for Hillsborough’s children.
Jean Trujillo
Hillsborough
