This is What the Next NJ Governor Needs to Do to Support Public Education

Every gubernatorial election in New Jersey is important. The choices made by the next governor will have a lasting impact on the future of public education. From school funding and preschool to facilities, students’ rights, and the growing threat of vouchers, the stakes are high. With that in mind, below we describe the crucial education issues that a new governor will face and how best to tackle them:

1. School Funding

The challenges created by the S2 legislation, which became law in 2018 and revised New Jersey’s school funding formula, the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA), are real, but not always the ones making headlines. The FY26 State Budget made some important temporary fixes, including imposing a floor on school district budget cuts, aligning special education funding with districts’ classification rates, and allowing below adequacy districts to raise taxes beyond the 2% property tax cap.

These were critical steps, but they exist only in budget language. Without legislation, they vanish in FY27 and beyond. The next governor must push the Legislature to make these fixes permanent, along with a full review of the Local Fair Share calculation, increases for Extraordinary Special Education Aid, and an in-depth analysis of the 17-year-old SFRA to ensure it reflects the true cost of educating and meeting the needs of students today, not a quarter century ago.

The SFRA was purposely designed to account for actual student needs, but those needs have changed over the two-plus decades since the formula was developed. In order for the SFRA to continue to meet its intended goal of serving as an equitable, transparent and predictable formula capable of providing a constitutionally mandated “thorough and efficient” education to all New Jersey students, the new gubernatorial administration will need to engage experts and stakeholders to determine the parameters of an adequate and equitable public education in 2026 and beyond.

The next governor will also confront something no governor this century has faced: the loss of federal funding for public education. Unless new state resources are committed, districts will face holes in their budgets, and students will bear the cost. It will be incumbent on the new administration and the State Legislature to ensure no New Jersey students fall through these cracks, especially students with disabilities, students from low-income families, and multilingual learners.

2. Preschool

There’s much to praise when it comes to public preschool in New Jersey. The high quality, full-day, “Abbott” Preschool program has long been recognized as a national model – with benefits validated by research – and recent expansions are extending that opportunity to children all over the state. The commitment to preschool has been evident in the previous eight state budgets.

But serious concerns remain. Enrollment of eligible children in SDA (former Abbott) district preschools has dropped alarmingly. Expansion funds are not always directed to districts with the children who need them most, and staff shortages at the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) mean state oversight is lacking, and districts are left with insufficient support.  

The next governor must renew the state’s commitment to Abbott preschool in the SDA districts and in expansion districts by:

• Strengthening NJDOE oversight and technical assistance for districts;
• Monitoring enrollment and supporting outreach and community engagement to ensure eligible children are served;
• Including and supporting community child-care providers as partners in expansion efforts, including financial support to help providers attain the required quality standards for facilities and staff;
• Commissioning a cost study to determine whether SFRA’s preschool per-pupil amounts are adequate; and
• Ensuring the Schools Development Authority (SDA) has sufficient funding to build and renovate preschool classrooms.

3. School Facilities

The need for school construction and renovation in the SDA districts is urgent. SDA CEO Manuel Da Silva has repeatedly testified that the funding is insufficient to meet identified needs—and even those identified needs are likely an undercount of the true scope of the problem. The longer the state delays, the longer students’ educational needs will go unmet, and the more expensive these projects will become.

This shortfall is not just about bricks and mortar. It means outdated HVAC systems that compromise student health, overcrowded classrooms that impede learning, and a lack of adequate space for science labs, libraries, and other curricular needs that are central to learning. Facilities investments directly affect student health, safety, and academic success. Research proves that students with better facilities have better outcomes.

It will be up to the next governor to ensure that funding continues to be available for all projects the SDA has determined are needed. Whether that requires bonding, a dedicated revenue source, or another mechanism, the next governor must lead the way in securing sustainable funding not only to address the backlog in SDA districts, but also to meet critical facilities needs in regular operating districts across the state.

4. School Desegregation

New Jersey’s public schools are among the most racially and socioeconomically segregated in the nation. School segregation is not only prohibited by New Jersey law; it also deprives students of the opportunity to learn in diverse settings that prepare them to thrive as adults in an increasingly multiracial and multicultural society. 

The next governor should take decisive action to address this unconstitutional segregation by supporting comprehensive remedies—both within and across district lines—that promote racial and socioeconomic diversity in New Jersey’s public schools.

5. Private Education Vouchers

The Trump Administration instituted the very first federal school voucher program in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. According to the new law, public school students will also be able to access these vouchers for supplemental educational services, such as tutoring. But until the U.S. Treasury provides regulations about the program, there’s no telling what strings will be attached.

But regs or no regs, we know the intention is to bring private education vouchers into every state, including those, like New Jersey, that have rejected them on multiple occasions. Public school advocates know that the new federal program is the top of a slippery slope leading to vouchers for all students and the decimation of public education. That’s why the next governor must commit to supporting public education – the cornerstone of our democracy – at all costs and to keeping vouchers out of our state.

6. Student Rights

The rights of public school students and their families are under attack. The Trump Administration is putting immigrant students, students of color, LGBTQ+ students, multilingual learners, students with disabilities, homeless and foster students, and many others – and their families – at risk. With the decimation of federal student civil rights enforcement under the Trump Administration, there is a greater need than ever for New Jersey to protect the rights of all public school students in the state.   

The next governor must be committed to the equity and justice for all students and their families that is sorely lacking at the federal level. Ensuring that all New Jersey students are safe and valued in school is essential to student learning and better outcomes for our state.

Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x240