On Sept. 29, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget for New Jersey. That budget, in the midst of the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime, protects current funding levels for public education, boosts the state’s investment in pre-k education, preserves access to critical services for at-risk students, and protects funding for higher education.
This pro-education, pro-working-family budget also makes the largest pension payment in New Jersey history.
Largest pension funding payment ever
The FY 2021 budget includes a $4.9 billion state contribution to the pension system—the largest payment ever, representing eight-tenths of the Annual Required Contribution (ARC)—continuing the state’s path to meeting its full payment obligation within two years.
The Murphy administration has been committed to funding the pension system and has consistently increased the state’s contribution to it. The current trajectory for ramping up to the state’s full payment is to increase the payment by tenths each year. Last year, for example, the Murphy administration made a seven-tenths pension contribution.
By fiscal year 2023, the state is expected to make the full pension contribution—also known as 100% of the ARC—as determined by the pension plan’s actuaries.
$25 million restored to higher education
As a result of intensive lobbying by NJEA members and staff, the FY 2021 budget restores $25 million in funding for county colleges that had previously been proposed as a cut. Combined with strong support for county college student financial aid, that restored funding will help stabilize county college finances during a challenging economic time.
As soon as the initial budget proposal was released in August, NJEA began to sound the alarm and made the case that a $25 million proposed cut to county college aid would hurt students and families and represent a real blow to hard-hit colleges. By forcing that issue to the forefront, NJEA made the choice clear: restore the funding or hurt New Jersey families. Legislative leaders heard that message and made that critical funding a centerpiece of their budget proposal.
$15 million restored to ed services
Lobbying by NJEA members and staff also resulted in the restoration of $15 million in funding for the Office of School Based Services. That funding is critical to supporting the health and well-being of thousands of vulnerable students in New Jersey’s public schools. For some families, school is the only place they can access critical services such as mental health counseling, substance abuse prevention and other key supports that NJEA members provide.