The Cherry Hill school district expects a 3% cut in state aid for the 2025-’26 school year that amounts to nearly $900,000.
State aid for fiscal year 2026 will be nearly $28.6 million, a decrease of $884,317 from last year. It marks the second consecutive cut for the district. The 3% figure is the maximum percentage cut currently allowed by state officials while creating a budget.
Last year, the district saw a cut in aid of $6.9 million, which was equivalent to almost 19% of that year’s budget. Following that decrease, the community advocated for a smaller reduction, and the state responded with $3.1 million in one-time supplemental aid.
Board of education President Gina Winters and school Superintendent Dr. Kwame Morton Sr. released a statement to the community on the district’s website in the wake of the budget’s release.
“The unwavering advocacy of our community last spring ultimately led to the restoration of $3.1 million in one-time supplemental aid,” the statement noted. “However, that money is not included in this year’s allocation .. This decrease poses undeniable challenges, and difficult decisions will need to be made.
“We want to reassure our community that, despite these challenges, we remain committed to meeting our students’ needs and maintaining the high-quality education Cherry Hill is known for.”
The statement went on to assure the community that while the state-aid reductions will have an impact on the district’s budget, all projects planned and funded through the bond referendum approved in 2022 will not be affected.
“The successful bond will allow us to continue addressing critical improvements to our district facilities as planned,” the statement read.
Cherry Hill is one of 140 districts across the state preparing for aid decreases in the upcoming academic year. Another 280 are seeing increases of 6%, sometimes more, depending on what aid categories the district and individual schools fall into.
“We will be working with state and local leaders in the coming weeks to advocate for our district and plan the next steps, and will explore every available option to uphold our mission and advocate for equitable funding,” read the statement from Morton and Winters.
The township community is invited to a discussion of the aid cuts and their impact at the next board of education meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18. The session will be livestreamed, as was the first meeting about cuts on March 11.
