Ed. Note: NJ Spotlight polled all gubernatorial candidates on hot issues as part of its NJ Decides 2025 feature. One of the questions is this: What changes, if any, would you make to the state’s school funding system, and how would you pay for them? Here are answers from Republican candidates. Not all candidates responded; when available, NJ Education Report has inserted answers from other platforms.

Jon Bramnick: “I would fully fund our schools, lessening the reliance on property taxes by dedicating our income tax revenue to school funding. This would restore all funding to schools that have seen a reduction in state aid and reduce property taxes by an average of $800 in the first year alone.”

Justin Barbera: “Barbera’s administration has proposed a 3 fold plan to fund NJ educational system. First, he aims to investigate potential corruption within the NJ teacher union. Second, Barbera plans to review election funding caps to prevent election tampering from the teachers unions to elect offices that will further their left wing agenda in the schools. Third, his administration intends to consolidate district schools for efficiency while increasing corporate tax rates on global companies, requiring them to contribute more towards local education. Simultaneously, he proposes reducing taxes for seniors and residents without children in New Jersey, aiming for a balanced approach to taxation and educational funding.”

Mario Kranjac “We’ll implement a fair school funding formula where the money follows the child and where parents and students have radical choice in education. We’ll eliminate the County Superintendent system that is utterly wasteful and unaccountable. We’ll end the forced-busing scheme that radicals on the State Board of Education are working to advance and permanently hold the State Board of Education accountable by electing them on the ballot.”

Neither Jack Ciattarelli nor Bill Spadea responded to NJ Spotlight. Here are answers culled other sources and linked within the text:

Jack Ciattarelli: “Jack will reform the state school funding formula, set a statewide standard on per-pupil spending and then allow that money to follow the student, while instructing the State Department of Education to get off the backs of higher-performing districts while concentrating on under-performing districts.” He would also have the state distribute vouchers for universal prekindergarten, allowing districts without room to offer the program while preserving the private pre-k sector.

Bill Spadea: Believes current school spending is bloated: “You’ve got $12 billion in school funding, yet there’s zero return on investment. In Newark, 9 out of 10 kids can’t perform math at grade level.” Also, “suburban schools are being unfairly punished under New Jersey’s current funding formula, which prioritizes urban districts.”