Toms River has faced challenges in its efforts to address significant cuts in state education funding. The district has pushed for changes to the state funding formula, but these efforts have stalled due to a lack of support from the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA).
One of Toms River’s main proposals sought to include PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreements in the calculations used to determine state aid. PILOT agreements allow developers to avoid paying property taxes for a period of time in exchange for annual payments to the town. However, these agreements are not currently factored into town assessments, which affects the amount of state aid the district receives. Toms River proposed that these agreements be included in assessments, but the NJSBA did not support the change, citing concerns about potential reductions in aid for other districts.
In addition, the district called for greater transparency in how the state calculates and distributes aid. Toms River has even taken legal steps to obtain clearer information, but the NJSBA rejected the proposal, stating that they already advocate for transparency in the process.
A third proposal sought to prevent towns that have not updated their property assessments from receiving state aid based on outdated values. Many towns do not regularly update property values, which can result in inaccurate assessments that make them appear poorer than they are. Toms River argued that these towns should not receive aid based on old values, but once again, the NJSBA did not support the proposal.
Without the backing of the NJSBA, Toms River’s proposed changes to the state funding formula have not moved forward, leaving the district’s funding challenges unresolved.
