TRENTON, N.J. — Federal education officials informed New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy that pandemic-era relief funds have ended, prompting a political clash over the future of school district budgets across the state.
In a statement posted Monday, the U.S. Department of Education Press Secretary Linda McMahon criticized Murphy’s reaction to the funding changes, writing on social media, “@GovMurphy doesn’t know what he is talking about. New Jersey is continuing to receive all recurring federal education funds – but his COVID slush fund is over.”
Key Points
- Federal officials confirmed New Jersey’s COVID-era education aid has ended, sparking backlash from Gov. Phil Murphy.
- Murphy accused the Trump administration of cutting $85 million affecting 20 urban school districts.
- The dispute follows criticism of Murphy for reducing state funds to Republican-leaning suburban districts.
Murphy responded by accusing the federal government, under the current Trump administration, of initiating “another devastating federal funding cut” targeting 20 school districts, mostly in urban areas, and warned that the decision would affect projects aimed at student health and safety.
“These cuts are reckless and irresponsible,” Murphy said in a statement released Sunday. “Washington is failing the next generation.”
The dispute centers on the end of federal emergency COVID-19 funding, which states had been using for various education-related expenditures since 2020. The funds were set to sunset under provisions established when the aid was originally distributed, and federal officials have indicated that only standard recurring education funding remains in place.
Murphy used those funds to artificially inflate school projects across New Jersey, knowing they would be temporary but creating long-term and permanent programs based on those temporary funding solutions, without a local funding solution as a backup.
The $85 million at issue had supported infrastructure upgrades in districts such as Newark, Paterson, Elizabeth, and East Orange. Other affected districts include Brick Township, Clifton, Bergenfield, and Bridgeton.
The fight comes amid state-level controversy, as Murphy’s administration faces backlash for cuts to suburban and Republican-leaning school districts, including Middletown, Jackson, and Toms River. The recent federal cut now extends the impact to several heavily Democratic, urban districts.
Murphy has pledged to work on restoring the lost funds, while federal officials maintain that no clawback of ongoing education funding is underway—only the end of temporary COVID-related assistance.
The clash between state and federal officials throws funding for more than 20 districts into uncertainty as schools prepare for the next fiscal year.