Even local democrats can't support phil murphy when it comes to schools and taxes in new jersey

Even Local Democrats Can’t Support Phil Murphy When it Comes to Schools and Taxes in New Jersey

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1 min read
July 16, 2018

BRICK-Brick Township is Ocean County’s blue town.  The township and the school board are controlled by Trenton backed Democrats, but now, even Mayor John Ducey, who was sworn into office by Governor Murphy can’t stand behind his party allies in Trenton.
Mayor John G. Ducey last month called on on Governor Phil Murphy to veto Senate Bill 2, which was passed by the Senate and Assembly. The bill reduced school aid from over 100 districts, including Brick Township and redistributed it to other districts around the state.
Ducey lashed out at fellow Democrats who control the state legislature.

Under the initial plan, Brick will lose approximately $22.5 million in adjustment aid.

On Friday, when Murphy released the new state aid figures, Brick schools remained in the red, even though an additional $351 million was added to K-12 funding in the Garden State.

“This bill is an affront to our community, our schools and our taxpayers. Eliminating aid from our schools will have a severe impact on Brick Township in terms of higher taxes and poorer education for our schoolchildren,” said Mayor Ducey of the state Democrats’ plan to strip shore towns of much needed state aid. “I implore Governor Murphy to do the right thing and veto this bill.”

In the end, Brick will now lose $1.16 million dollars, or 3% of state aid for education received in 2017.

Phil Stilton

Phil Stilton is the Editor and Publisher of Shore News Network, an independent digital newsroom providing original reporting on New Jersey, national news, government, public policy, public safety, courts, and community affairs.

As founder of the publication, Stilton leads editorial strategy, investigative reporting, and daily newsroom operations while overseeing coverage that reaches millions of readers annually.

With extensive experience covering municipal government, county government, state legislatures, elections, law enforcement, emergency management, and public records, Stilton specializes in translating complex government actions into clear, factual reporting. His work frequently relies on primary source documents, including court filings, legislation, public meeting records, election finance disclosures, government databases, police reports, and Freedom of Information and Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests. He has reported extensively on local government accountability, taxpayer spending, campaign finance, public corruption investigations, infrastructure, public safety, and the policies affecting New Jersey residents.

Under Stilton's editorial leadership, Shore News Network has grown into one of New Jersey's largest independent digital news organizations, publishing thousands of original news articles each year while providing breaking news coverage, investigative reporting, and analysis across state and local government. The publication's reporting is routinely sourced from official government agencies, public officials, court records, and firsthand documentation, with a commitment to transparency, attribution, corrections when warranted, and clearly distinguishing factual reporting from opinion.

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