Every Student, Every Day, Every Opportunity
Kari McGann, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

Date: January 8, 2025
Re: State Board Testimony School Funding Formula
From: Kari McGann, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Flemington-Raritan Regional School District
kari.mcgann@frsd.us

[N.B.: Tables referenced in the original text did not reporduce accurately in this format.  To receive a copy of the testimony with tables included, please email gscschools@gmail.com]

My name is Dr. Kari McGann. I am the Superintendent of the Flemington-Raritan Regional School District. For over 30 years, I have served in education in the State of Florida and New Jersey. I’ve been honored to be the Superintendent of Schools in Flemington-Raritan for seven years. We are the largest school district in Hunterdon County. We operate on an 80 million-dollar budget, supporting every student, every day, every opportunity. Flemington-Raritan enrolls over thirty-three hundred pre-K through grade 8 students. Table one (1) details the district's subgroup demographics in each school in the district.
● 25% economically disadvantaged students;
● 20% special education students;
● 8% multilingual learners.

Table 1
The current school funding formula penalizes my district—and by extension our students--based on factors that are beyond the District’s control. Last year, the cost of contracted salary increases combined with increased health care costs, alone exceeded the 2% cap. Additionally, the cost of supplies, utilities, general services, maintenance, transportation, and special education tuition has increased. Federal funding through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funding from the pandemic that helped pay for many items expired. Our budget difficulties are primarily due to the costs of providing a thorough and efficient education to students with widely varying needs, contracted salaries, retroactive health insurance claims, and the increasing costs of services.
To summarize, the reasons for the District’s financial strain:

● Federal funding ended (i.e., Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) and
American Recovery Plan (ARP);
● The S2 Funding Formula;
● A lack of surplus funds;
● An increase in the self-insurance cost of claims;
● An increase in costs due to rising costs of school-based security officers with a budget line item
each year of over $350,000
● The loss of cumulative state funding totaling over 1.2 million dollars in the past six years;
● Rising costs for out-of-district placements for student education;
● Rising costs such as energy and transportation; and
● NJDOE-mandated expenses.

Since 2018, the District has lost $1,208,093 in state funding. While we monitor current spending, analyze anticipated expenses, and allocate funds carefully, the state’s funding formula hurts Flemington-Raritan. The District’s State aid is less than the district received in 2014-15 despite our cost increases.

The District addressed budget deficits during my service as superintendent by reducing personnel over the last six years and changing health care in the 2023-2024 school year. The District actively monitors the budget projections for future years and makes adjustments to adjust for financial trends.
Costs continue to rise in areas that are beyond our control. In 2024, the District’s security costs increased by 14% after the local township and borough raised the contracted rate for Class III Officers. Other costs continue to increase such as energy services, which are anticipated to increase for the 24-25 school year by 20%. Security costs are expected to increase again by approximately 8 to 10%, roughly $30,000.

Another area where costs are increasing which are beyond the district’s control is in the area of special education. The District has seen an increase in special education out-of-district placements including tuition, transportation, and nursing services. Out-of-district placement unbudgeted amounts due to the move-in of new students for the 2024-2025 school year totaled $638,970.

To proactively plan for the 2025-2026 budget and to adjust and plan for the continued strain on our budget, the district is seeking approval from the district’s legal voters to raise an additional $2,388,749 above the tax levy for the 2025-2026 school year as permitted under legal code, P.L. 2024, c.60, N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-5 and -39. We aim to keep thirty (30) teachers and staff to maintain small class sizes in the elementary schools including teachers to support specialized reading programs, a Class III Security Officer for each school in the District, keep STEM programs alive, and junior varsity sports.

Approval of the special question will result in a permanent increase in the district’s tax levy. For the 2025-2026 school year, taxes will go up $5 a month for a Flemington Borough home assessed at $400,000 and $32 a month for a Raritan Township home assessed at $600,000.

After reducing thirty-three positions in the 2023-24 budget, the district will once again reduce personnel, programs, and costs in other areas for the 2025-2026 budget by close to $1 million, regardless of whether or not the special question passes to raise the tax levy above 2%.

I greatly appreciate the legislative steps that are being taken to review the state funding formula and listen to school district leaders. I request that legislators consider ways to increase districts' allocation for extraordinary aid or create reserve funds that districts can tap into for funding of special education out-of-district costs, including transportation costs.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening and for allowing me to share a few examples of how the school