Bill Text: NJ A5248 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: "Fairness for Coastal School Districts in Development Restricted Areas Act"; provides State aid to certain school districts located in municipalities subject to CAFRA.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 5)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-06-11 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A5248 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5248-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GREGORY E. MYHRE
District 9 (Ocean)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman McClellan, Assemblywoman Fantasia and Assemblyman Auth
SYNOPSIS
"Fairness for Coastal School Districts in Development Restricted Areas Act"; provides State aid to certain school districts located in municipalities subject to CAFRA.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning State school aid for certain school districts, designated as the "Fairness for Coastal School Districts in Development Restricted Areas Act," and supplementing P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section, "qualifying school district" means a school district that:
(1) experienced a net loss in State school aid in the 2024-2025 school year compared to the 2017-2018 school year pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2018, c.67 (C.18A:7F-68);
(2) has a resident enrollment greater than 500 students; and
(3) is located wholly in a municipality in which at least 20 percent of the total acreage of the municipality is situated in the coastal area as defined in section 4 of P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-4).
In the case of a regional school district, a "qualifying school district" means an all-purpose regional school district in which one or more of the constituent school districts is wholly located in a municipality in which at least 20 percent of the total acreage of the municipality is situated in the coastal area and which otherwise meets the eligibility criteria established by this subsection.
b. In addition to any other State school aid provided pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), a qualifying school district shall be eligible to receive additional State school aid pursuant to this section. The additional State school aid shall equal the product of multiplying $275 by the number of acres in the municipality in which the qualifying school district is located that are situated in the coastal area. A qualifying school district with resident enrollment greater than 500 students but less than 1,000 students, however, shall not receive an allocation of additional State school aid pursuant to this section that exceeds $2,500,000 in any school year. A qualifying school district with resident enrollment greater than 1,000 students shall not receive an allocation of additional State school aid pursuant to this section that exceeds $5,000,000 in any school year.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill, designated as the "Fairness for Coastal School Districts in Development Restricted Areas Act," provides additional State school aid to certain school districts located in municipalities that are subject to the provisions of the "Coastal Area Facility Review Act," commonly known as "CAFRA."
As defined by the bill, a qualifying school district is one that experienced a net loss in State school aid pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2018, c.67, otherwise known as "S2," and has a resident enrollment of over 500 students. In addition, a qualifying school district is required to be wholly located in a municipality in which at least 20 percent of the total acreage of the municipality is situated in the coastal area as defined in the Coastal Area Facility Review Act. A qualifying school district's allocation of aid under the bill would equal the product of multiplying $275 by the number of acres in the municipality in which the qualifying school district is located that are situated in the coastal area. The bill limits the total amount a qualifying school district may receive in a given school year, however, depending on the number of students enrolled in the district.
It is the sponsor's belief that development and environmental protections implemented as part of the Coastal Area Facility Review Act have severely hampered the ability of many coastal municipalities to expand commercial or high-density residential properties, thereby limiting their ability to collect much-needed property tax revenue that could be used to enhance local services. This inability to collect additional revenue acutely affects schools in these municipalities, especially ones that have recently experienced significant reductions in State school aid pursuant to S2. This bill seeks to support those coastal school districts that have lost State support in recent years and have not been able to benefit from additional local tax revenue that could have been realized were it not for strict development limitations imposed by State environmental action.
