Rising insurance and special education costs force New Jersey school layoffs |
North Jersey school districts are laying off teachers, eliminating staff positions, and cutting student programs as soaring health insurance premiums, special education expenses, and utility costs strain already tight budgets. Districts across both urban and suburban communities, including Paterson, Hackensack, Ridgewood, Westwood Regional, and Montclair, are facing multimillion-dollar budget gaps that administrators say are increasingly difficult to manage under New Jersey’s 2% property tax levy cap. Paterson plans to eliminate 89 jobs and phase out another 243 positions through attrition, while Hackensack is cutting 108 teachers and instructional staff, along with 49 custodial and administrative roles. Other districts are reducing services and delaying purchases. Susan Young, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials, said the problem extends beyond school funding formulas. “While much of the current discussion has focused on the revenue side of the budget, particularly the state aid formula, even a significant increase in state aid will not, by itself, resolve these challenges,” Young said. “The core of the problem lies on the expense side of district budgets, where costs for health benefits, special education, and student transportation have grown dramatically and largely beyond local control.”
