Gov. Mikie Sherrill will push for record sums of pre-school and K-12 aid in her inaugural budget address this afternoon, according to a source familiar with her budget.
The governor will ask legislators to appropriate $12.4 billion in formula aid for K-12 schools and $1.4 billion in preschool education aid, year-over-year increases of 3.1% and 9%, respectively. The education funding proposals (and other youth-focused programs) will be a significant focus of Sherrill’s much-anticipated budget address.
Though she’s proposed record education funding, the governor has signaled that she will look for major cuts in the budget as the state faces a “serious” fiscal outlook. She’s offered few details of what those cuts could be, and has deferred to this afternoon’s budget address when asked.
Sherrill will propose a doubling of funding to high-impact tutoring, up to $15 million for the next fiscal year, which the source said has produced measurable improvements in students. She’ll also propose to cut filing fees for corporations and non-profits.
The governor, who focused on the effect of social media on children during her congressional tenure and gubernatorial campaign, will announce several plans to address the internet and youth mental health. She will propose a $33 million youth mental health initiative, the source said. The Sherrill administration will look to shutter the New Jersey Statewide Student Support Services program and shift its funding to services organized by the Department of Education. Her budget would also launch a School-based Partnerships for Access and Resilience for Kids (SPARK) program, which would give grants for school districts to partner with mental health providers.
Her budget also includes $500,000 for a social media research center to be established at a university in New Jersey, the source said. Sherrill will ask legislators for $500,000 to establish a team of experts who would provide assistance in the state procurement process to minority- and women-owned businesses. Her proposal also includes $11 million to help homeless veterans find permanent housing.
The governor’s budget would increase funding for the New Jersey Innovation Authority by more than $13 million. The source said the NJIA is tasked with developing a Permitting Dashboard and New Jersey Report Card, tools meant to show the status of permit applications and budget programs. The budget would also provide increased resources for the Department of Environmental Protection to expedite permitting.
Sherrill’s 2 p.m. budget message is the first official step of what legislators expect to be a difficult budget season. In a press conference last week, the governor said the state faces a $3 billion structural deficit; she promised not to raise taxes on New Jerseyans, instead saying her administration was looking for spending cuts.
“We are going to look for savings, because together, we need to fix Trenton’s historic spending problem,” she said last week.
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