Asking Tough Questions: The Bloomfield School District’s FY 2026 State Aid Drop

Mar 08, 2025

colored pencil lined up on top of white surface — Photo by Jess Bailey on Unsplash

On February 25th, Governor Murphy presented the Fiscal Year 2026 budget, touting a historic total of $22.2 billion in funding for pre-K through 12 education. This figure is composed of $21.3 billion in direct funding plus $882.4 million from the Lottery Enterprise Contribution Act. According to the administration’s press release, this represents a $444 million increase from Fiscal Year 2025 and over one-third of the entire state budget. This includes $3 million for a school cellphone ban initiative and and $7.5 million to support high-impact tutoring.

Despite these lofty figures, Bloomfield did not fare well. In fact, it faces the largest reduction in state aid among Essex County school districts—losing $1,593,537 (a 3.5% decrease), dropping from $53,117,893 in FY25 to $51,524,356 in FY26. Other urban districts such as Newark, Trenton, and Camden are projected to receive the maximum 6% increase, according to NJ Spotlight News. Within Essex County, West Orange Township experienced the second-largest decrease at $1,007,575, followed by a $374,641 cut for Nutley Township. Livingston and Millburn also saw smaller but still significant reductions of $294,816 and $211,913, respectively.

The question remains: Why is Bloomfield facing the biggest cut? Has Bloomfield suddenly been grouped with much wealthier towns such as West Orange, Livingston, and Millburn? If so, residents have yet to see any tangible benefits from this apparent increase in “local wealth.” Much of the new development in Bloomfield is governed by PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreements, which often yield little or no direct financial contribution to the school district.

This fiscal situation could be made even worse if federal funding for Bloomfield schools is cut, particularly under Title I and other programs that have been at risk under the Trump administration. Bloomfield has seven Title I schools—Franklin, Fairview, Berkeley, Watsessing, Carteret, BMS, and BHS—and also relies on Titles II, III, and IV, which can be applied district-wide for various specific needs. Any reduction in these critical federal allocations would add another layer of strain to an already challenging budget scenario.

It is important to remember that these figures are not final. The proposed budget will head to the Assembly for review before the new fiscal year begins on July 1. With Assembly members Venezia and Morales sitting on key committees—Budget and Joint Committee on the Public Schools —residents are hopeful that some of the lost funding for Bloomfield might be restored. It also raises the question: Was Bloomfield unfairly targeted, or is this a move to allow local representatives to “save the day” as they gear up for re-election?

For now, the community is left awaiting the Assembly’s decisions. As we know, the Assembly budget process is opaque and rushed where key decisions about the final budget will be made behind closed doors, and decided predominately by just the three men who hold the most powerful positions inside the State House. Given the stakes for local schools, many in Bloomfield will be watching closely, hoping that the final state budget offers a fairer outcome than the current Governor’s proposal.

While the school district’s budget is separate from the township budget, all Bloomfield taxpayers ultimately bear the cost of funding our schools. We remain committed to engaging with these issues and will continue calling on the Governor and State Assembly to provide clear, transparent answers—and to ensure Bloomfield receives the support it needs.

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Bloomfield Chronicles

Asking Tough Questions: The Bloomfield School District’s FY 2026 State Aid Drop

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By Satenik Margaryan, Ph.D., Candidate to Bloomfield Town At Large

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