Community colleges in New Jersey see a cut for 2026. But Gov. Murphy says he proposed same funding as last year

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For the third straight year, community colleges in New Jersey, also known as county colleges, are seeking the Legislature’s intervention for more money in next year’s budget.

In his 2026 budget proposal, Gov. Phil Murphy, is allotting $149.1 million in state aid to the colleges. It is the same amount that he offered in the previous two budgets, with the Legislature adding an additional $20 million both years.

Did Governor Murphy cut aid to county colleges in the Garden State?

Murphy insisted that he is not proposing a reduction in state aid for community colleges. But Dr. Lovell Pugh-Bassett, president of Camden County College, is not convinced.

“It’s no different than somebody’s rent going up and their salary [is] not; it’s pretty much considered a pay cut,” she said. “I’m not necessarily making more money, but because my costs are increasing, it feels like I’m making less money.”

Officials with the Murphy Administration said the $149.1 million is proposed for operating aid, adding they have taken a student-centered approach to funding community colleges. For example, the Community College Opportunity Grant, which allows some students to attend county colleges for free, was created by the Murphy administration. The officials pointed out that since Murphy took office in 2018, state funding for community colleges has increased by $15 million.

“There’s a notion of legislative adds, which is a long tradition in New Jersey,” the governor said last year on WHYY News’ “Ask Governor Murphy” program when the question about community college funding was raised.

While Murphy proposed $39.8 million for the Community College Opportunity Grant for the last couple of years, he is proposing $32.5 million, or 18% less, for 2026.

College administrators and students face funding uncertainties

Some college presidents believe President Donald Trump’s administration will have a negative financial impact on higher education, according to a survey by Inside Higher Ed.

The mystery of what is going to happen with federal funding is already adding to the anxiety of how students will be served in the next year, said Dr. Pugh-Bassett.

“There’s that looming threat that’s placed over us as to whether or not money is going to be taken away for targeted programs,” she said, referring to programs that help students pay for tuition and increase graduation rates, among others. “That, coupled with the health care increases, cost of living…create more of a concern for us.”

Alejandro Ramos, president of the Camden County College Student Government Association, said he is prepared to lobby state leaders for more money. Last month, he went to Washington with more than 1,000 other community college advocates to seek federal support.

“I advocate with [U.S. Rep.] Donald Norcross and really fight for things like the exemption from taxation on the Pell Grant and make sure historically serving institutions get this federal funding that we need to establish our communities.”

Ramos, a 19-year-old first-year civil engineering student from Pennsauken, said in addition to receiving grants to attend class, he is also paying for his education as a part-time swim instructor. He said it would be more challenging for him to pay for school if grants get reduced.

“It would be extremely harder with the time I already have,” Ramos said. “It’s tough really, managing my school, my work and without federal funding I don’t think this would be possible.”

More investment in higher education is needed 

In addition to the uncertainty of federal funding, the state is also navigating economic uncertainties which Gov. Murphy alluded to in his budget address in February.

“While, yes, every responsible budget, including this one, requires hard decisions — like scaling back programs that we would rather increase funding for — we can, and we must, make those decisions while also keeping our promises, whether it be making the full payment into our pension system or fully funding our public education system,” Murphy said.

Dr. Aaron Fichtner, president of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, acknowledged that this year’s budget process is going to be challenging.

“There are many decisions that have to be made, and we respect that the governor and the legislature gonna have to make some tough decisions,” he said. 

Fichtner said the colleges are already operating “at very, very thin margins.” He cites a 2024 report prepared by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association that found state funding of two-year institutions in New Jersey near the bottom of the list when compared to the rest of the country.

“Other states are clearly much more aware and doing something, compared to New Jersey, than we are when it comes to investing in their own citizens and the future of their citizens,” said state Sen. Andrew Zwicker, who adds that in general, higher education has been chronically underfunded in the Garden State.

Zwicker said he would like to see the Legislature add $20 million to what Murphy is proposing for county colleges again this year. But he also wants to have a conversation on how to best fund higher education. 

Zwicker co-chaired a special committee in 2023 looking at the stability of the state’s higher education system.

“If we don’t do something about higher education in New Jersey, and step back and look at all of our institutions and come up with a real plan, then we’re going to have this fight next year and the year after,” he said. “It’s just not the right way to go about doing our business.”