New Jersey private schools will get a boost in funding for security measures under a new law.
The legislation adds $11.3 million for security at nonpublic schools—doubling their level of state security funding from $75 to $150 per student. Per-student public school funding for security rose to $205.
Proponents said the increase—which comes after voters in November approved $500 million in added school funding, including for public school security— would enable private schools to take steps such as hiring security guards and installing cameras.
Critics, however, said lawmakers hadn’t shown a need for the increase for private schools and cited state data showing that at least $832,000 in private school security appropriations went unspent in fiscal 2017.
