Governor Murphy’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal calls for Lakewood to receive nearly $23.5 million in state aid. 

Included in the budget is a total of $23,472,641 in school district aid, with $14,958,782 in Equalization Aid, $3,052,174 in transportation aid, and $2,186,868 in security funding.

The numbers are not pretty for the Lakewood School District, which had a gaping $30 million hole in their budget last year, which forced the district to take a loan to cover their expenses. With another $30 million deficit expected this year, the amount proposed by Murphy does little to help get Lakewood out of the hole it finds itself in.

Governor Murphy is also allocating an extra $50 million in his budget for struggling school districts, but it isn’t clear if Lakewood will receive any of those funds, or if it is even eligible for those funds.