Additional $1.2 Million to Hoboken for Pre-K Funding in Governor Christie's 2016-17 Budget

Cobblestones of Court Street near 5th Street
photo: Mark Critides

Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) is proposing that for 2016-17 that Pre-K aid be kept at exactly the same amount it was at for 2015-16 for the state of New Jersey. That amount comes to $655,516,608. However, this does not mean that every single Pre-K district is getting the same amount of aid that it got last year. Due to increases in the number of children aged 3 or 4 in Pre-K districts, some of the aid shifts are very large. The Hoboken School District will come out as big winners with a proposed increase of $1,288,185 dollars above and beyond the amount allocated for 2015-16. Add to this the recent news of a $5,400,000 surplus from unspent funds in the 2014-15 budget and it would appear that the Hoboken district is not being as damaged as some proclaim from the expansion of 4 classrooms in a single charter school. 

For a much more detailed explanation on the increase in Pre-K funding, please point your browser to New Jersey Education Aid under an article entitled "Big Winners, Losers in Pre-K Aid."

The Big Gainers in Pre-K funding for 2016-17:

	Proposed Pre-K Aid Increase	2015-16 Pre-K Aid	2016-17 Proposed Pre-K Aid
HOBOKEN	$1,288,185	$10,229,295	$11,517,480
JERSEY CITY	$923,574	$67,499,148	$68,422,722
FRANKLIN TWP	$863,872	$857,123	$1,720,995
TRENTON	$639,076	$28,466,696	$29,105,772