Gov. Phil Murphy will give a budget speech on Tuesday where he will outline how he will guide the state out of a major budget hole caused by COVID-19 – all while the state reopens further amid the pandemic.
The governor announced that over 700 public and private schools in New Jersey are seeking approval to reopen next month.
“Each region of the state is safe for reopening, but with the precautions we have observed,” Murphy said Monday.
Just over 50 school districts will only open for in-person instruction. A vast majority will feature all remote learning or a hybrid model.
Murphy also updated the public on his restart and recovery commission, consisting of 11 people who advise him on how to best reopen the state. The commission has been meeting once every other week.
This is all while Murphy prepares to address how the state will plug a multibillion-dollar budget gap.
“Anybody who thinks you can have 1.4 million unemployed and you can flip a light switch is not paying attention,” Murphy said.
Tuesday’s speech is expected to including borrowing authorized by the Legislature and also a plea for help from the federal government.
“We’ll do our job, but we need Washington to do our job alongside us,” Murphy said.
The budget spanning from Oct. 1 through June 30, 2021 could see up to 15% in cuts across state departments.
Murphy also said that the statewide rate of transmission from the virus remains under 1 and has been for nearly a week straight.
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