West Deptford Schools See an Increase in State Aid

A year after seeing the local budget’s state aid slashed by more than $2 million, the West Deptford school district is getting an increase $413,794, or about a fifth of what it lost going into 2010-11, according to the official state aid numbers released by the New Jersey Department of Education Wednesday night.

In his budget address Tuesday, Gov. Chris Christie vowed to increase school spending by $250 million in his 2011-2012 budget, restoring some of the cuts most districts saw.

“Last year, our state faced severe fiscal challenges, and we had to make some very difficult choices. Reductions to education funding were among the most agonizing of those choices,” Christie said in a release.

All districts in Gloucester County saw an increase, as the state boosted funding to the county by $6,849,433. The largest percentage increases were in Greenwich Township, which saw its funding boosted by 11.47 percent, and South Harrison Township, which saw a jump of 9.82 percent.

By comparison, West Deptford’s is a 3.96 percent increase, the sixth-largest percentage increase in the county. The majority of county districts saw less than a 3 percent hike overall.

The numbers now go to the West Deptford Board of Education, which held a budget meeting before last week’s regular public meeting, as they tried to anticipate the funding possibilities for this coming fiscal year.

Superintendent Kevin Kitchenman said after that meeting that the administration and board were working on various contingencies, but that much of it was guesswork.

“We have multiple budget scenarios, but it’s all speculative,” he said.

The next scheduled West Deptford Board of Education meeting is next Monday, Feb. 28.

Check in with Patch for more on this story Thursday.