State Aid to Galloway Township Remains Steady; School District Sees $900,000 Increase

The will see a $900,000 increase in state aid this year, Gov. Chris Christie announced late Thursday afternoon.

Previously, the learned that for the third year in a row, state aid to the municipality will be $2,581,284. Four years ago, the state cut roughly $820,000 in state aid it has yet to recover, Mayor Don Purdy said.

The township's proposed budget is set to be introduced at next Tuesday's council meeting.

The school district will receive $21,707,561 in aid from the state.

Meanwhile, the Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District, which includes , will receive $29,117,557.

"We expected some kind of increase, but certainly not this much," Galloway Township Superintendent of Schools Annette Giaquinto said prior to Thursday night's Superintendent's Advisory Team meeting at

"We're very pleased," Business Administrator Tim Kelley said during the meeting.

The school district will hold the first of three hearings on its proposed budget on Monday night, Feb. 27. Another one follows March 19 and the final hearing takes place March 26. All hearings are open to the public.

"We're going to be as conservative because we have a referendum coming up and because the public can't vote on the budget," Giaquinto said, referring to the Board of Education's decision to move school board elections to November and take the ability to vote on the budget out of the hands of the voters, as long as it stays below the 2-percent cap.

Board of Education member Suzette Cordero wanted to make sure everyone knows that although the district will receive an additional $900,000, the money can't just go anywhere.

This year, $1,852,203 of the aid is alloted for special education, and $103,073 goes toward security aid. Equalized aid is $19,752,285.

In Greater Egg, $2,097,034 is alloted for special education, and $4,054 goes toward security aid. Equalized aid is $27,016,469.