Fair Funding Campaign

Dr. Lavender's Community Letter regarding school funding win
KRSD by Dr. James J. Lavender, 7/28/2018

Murphy signs law to modernize school funding formula
NJTV News by Michael Aron, 7/24/2018

N.J. adding $351 million to schools, and 'moms' make it happen
Philly.com by Maddie Hanna, 7/16/2018

Excstatic Sweeney Wins Major Changes in School Funding
NJSPOTLIGHT by John Mooney, 7/2/2018

VIDEO: Lavender, Cavallaro-Fromm participate in press conference at State House
Blue New Jersey, 4/23/2018

VIDEO: Kingsway superintendent on fair funding
NJSENATE, 4/16/2018 

School funding changes could lead to big aid gains, losses
Burlington County Times by David Levinsky, 4/25/2018

OP-ED: FOR NEW JERSEY STATE AID, LET MONEY ‘FOLLOW THE CHILD
NJSPOTLIGHT by Jeffrey Bennett 4/16/2018

Top Democrat slams brakes on Murphy's picks to lead education in N.J.
NJ.Com by Matt Arco, 4/15/2018

After complaints, Governor willing to rework budget for school funding?
NJSPOTLIGHT by John Reitmeyer, 4/12/2018

School funding continues to dominate budget hearings
NJTVonline by Leah Mishkin, 4/9/2018

Gov. Phil Murphy tells parents at town hall that school funding shortages are 'unacceptable'
Burlington County Times by David Levinsky, 4/4/2018

Democratic Heavy Hitters Ready to Revise Murphy’s Budget Plan
NJSPOTLIGHT by John Reitmeyer, 4/4/2018

Demand for fair, full school funding dominates NJ Senate
NJTV News by Michael Hill, 4/3/2018

Superintendent, Board Members, & Parents testify before Senate Budget Committee
Tesimony by James J. Lavender, 4/3/2018

Murphy says he expects changes to school aid formula
NJ101.5 by Michael Symons, 3/26/2018

New school aid dissapoints underfunded districts
By Rocco Tomazic, 3/25/2018

Districts pressing school-funding cases as state moves to dismiss their petition
Politico by Linh Tat, 3/12/2018

Kingsway, Swedesboro Borough Joing School Funding Lawsuit
Joint Press Release, 12/21/2017

Parent letter regading increase in state aid
By Dr. Lavender, 7/26/2017

VIDEO: Sweeney thanks Kingsway for school funding fight
NJ Senate, 7/14/2017

New School Aid left in limbo as Pols take budget to 11th hour
NJ Spotlight, by John Mooney, 6/30/2017

Parent letter regarding final school budget
By Dr. Lavender, 5/3/2017

VIDEO: Lavender, Cavallaro participate in Senate Announcement
NJ State Houase Annex, 5/2/2017

Senate pledges More Aid for Underfunded NJ Schools
Politicker.com, by Salvador Rizzo, 5/2/2017

Lavender/Prieto Meeting Agenda
KRSD.org, Kingsway Team meets with Assembly Speaker Prieto, 4/6/2017

School Funding Talk at Kingsway, 2.0
3/28/2017

Dr. Lavender's PowerPoint Presentation
KRSD.org, School Funding Forum, 3/28/2017

Parent letter explaining 2017-18 Tentative Budget
KRSD.org by, Dr. Lavender, 3/23/2017

School funding needs to be addressed now; can't wait for new governor
Op-ed by Superintendents Lavender (Kingsway), Greene (Newton), Tomaicz (Freehold Boro), 3/23/2017

Kingsway brings school funding fight to Assembly
District Press Release, 3/23/2017

Lavender's Written Testimony before Assembly Budget Committee
 - Video Testimony

Rowan University, 3/22/2017
Cavallaro-Fromm's Written Testimony before Assembly Budget Committee
- Video Testimony

Rowan University, 3/22/2017
NJEA President to Chrsitie: Leave school funding to next governor
Op-ed by Wendell Steinhauer, NJEA President, 3/20/2017

Kinsgsway adopts 2017-18 Tentative Budget
Board of Education, 3/16, 2017 

Applaud Kingsway fight for N.J. school aid
NJ.com, Letter to the Editor, 3/6/2017

Christie's School Funding Surprise: Maintain the Status Quo
NJ Spotlight by John Mooney, 3/1/2017

Kingsway right to put foot down, sue state
Courier Post Online, Letter to the Editor, 2/28/2017

Christie drops plan to overhaul school funding, issues new challenge
NJ.com by Adam Clark, 2/28/2017

Supreme Court rejects petion; Kingsway pledges to fight in trial courts
District Press Release, 2/13/2017

Supreme Court rejects Kingsway's petition for school aid
Philly.com by Maddie Hanna, 2/13/2017

South Jersey district sues to get all students '100% of their school funing'
Philly.com Maddie Hanna, by 2/10/2017

Kingsway files Notice of Motion to Reopen and Enforce the Supreme Court's Decisions in Abbott XX and Abbott XXI.
To see Press Release, click here.
Friday, February 10, 2017.

Kingsway Officials testify before Assembly Education Committee
Facebook Livestream, 2/7/2017

Prieto, Sweeney agree school funding could be resolved this fiscal year
POLITICO, Linh Tat, 2/8/2017

South Jersey School District Ready to Challenge School-Funding Formula in Court
NJ Spotlight by John Reitmeyer, 1/30/2017  

Senate Committee on School Funding Fairness
Video of the public hearing hosted on Kingsway's campus. Open the video and click the Annotations tab on the top and select the testimony you wish to view. Testimonies are in the order of testimonies heard that day.
High School East Cafe, 1/27/2017

Kingsway Officials testify before Senate Committee on School Funding Fairness
Superintendent Lavender Testimony

Board President Mueller Testimony

Chief Academic Officer Calandro Testimony

Business Administrator Schimpf Testimony

High School Principal Stephenson Testimony

High School East Cafe, 1/27/2017

Kingsway approves Local Government Resolution for the Support of the Senate Select Committee on School Funding Fairness (SR-100)
KRSD, 1/26/2017

Kingsway intensifies efforts to secure fair school funding, press conference scheduled to announce new strategy
Kingsway Regional, 1/25/2017

NJ school districts worry about losing out in latest Trenton funding fight
Philly.com, by Maddie Hanna, 1/22/2017

On Schools, fight Christie
NJ.com, Editorial, 1/22/2017

Quit Shortchanging NJ Schoolchildren
Asbury Park Press, Editorial, 1/20/2017

Senate Committee on School Funding to be held at Kingsway
Friday, January 27th, 11:00 a.m.

Kingsway joins Sweeney, Mayors and Swedesboro-Woolwich Officials to discuss Funding
Friday, January 20th, 3:45 p.m.

School Administrators Endorse Funding Plan
Formula4Success, 9/23/2016

NJ's poorest county seeks to avoid loss of $168M in school aid under Christie's plan
NJ.com, by Don E. Woods, 9/25/2016

ELC's 6-Part Series on Governor's Unfair School Funding Plan
Education Law Center, 9/20/2016

Sweeney's smart end-around on school funding
Asbury Park Press Editorial, 9/16/2016

Panel would establish fair school funding formula
Bergen Record, 9/14/2016

From Pre-K to College, we need to invest
OPED - Stephen Sweeney, 9/2/2016

Kingsway endorses funding plan and Adopts resolution
KRSD, 8/25/2016

Sweeney joins local educators at Kingsway Regional for School Funding Forum
Formula 4 Success, 7/13/2016

Reform needed to guarantee fair and adequate school funding
OPED - Stephen Sweeney & Teresa Ruiz, 7/11/2016

Christie vs. Sweeney: 5 superintendents weigh in on funding plans
Michelle Caffrey for NJ.com, 6/25/2016

Establishing the State School Aid Funding Fairness Commission
New Jersey Senate Bill, No. 2372, 6/16/2016

The Kingsway Regional School District remains committed to providing challenging educational programs as well as comparable extra-curricular and athletic program offerings that prepare students for college and career upon graduation. Despite budgetary constraints due to a rapidly growing student population, the District continues to maintain and expand student opportunities while securing the safety of both students and staff.  (See Kingsway By The Numbers)

Kingsway Regional has managed these significant enrollment increases, year after year, without the benefit of corresponding state aid increases that reflect our growth.  As a result, the financial support of our schools continues to be disproportionately placed on the homeowners within our region.  Kingsway will receive only 43.3% of the state aid it is entitled per the state’s funding formula (SFRA) in fiscal year 2017.  If funded at 100% of SFRA, Kingsway would receive an additional $11.6 million of state aid in fiscal year 2017 alone.  Conversely, districts with declining enrollments, like Washington Township, will receive more than 140% of the state aid they are entitled per the state’s funding formula.  This inadequacy in state aid simply cannot continue if Kingsway is to compete with its peer districts.  

In FY17, the District’s proposed budget falls in excess of $8.3 million below adequacy as determined by the SFRA. This fact, along with the constant demands placed on our programs as a result of continued and significant enrollment growth, has made it extremely difficult to raise standards and expand opportunities for our students.  In fact, we are and will continue to communicate the point that our students have fewer opportunities than students attending schools in Districts that receive a far more proportionate share of state aid.  Kingsway is a District that must grow to meet the demands of a rapidly expanding student body in order to provide the rigor, opportunity, and quality of program for our students to compete in the highly competitive global community.  

“We believe that state aid should be distributed fairly and equitably based on a formula that takes into account each town’s property tax base, its ability to pay, increases and decreases in enrollment, and the special needs of the children. The Senate Select Committee on School Funding Fairness will help Kingsway and other communities provide a quality education while protecting local taxpayers. It’s a strong step in the right direction."

 

Dr. James J. Lavender

Superintendent