School of Conservation budget rises

Officials of the New Jersey School of Conservation received welcome news late last month when the state Legislature approved a budget allocating $2.8 million to the school for fiscal year 2025, a substantial increase from the 2024 budget.

“I am thrilled to report that the Legislature and governor approved $2.8 million for the NJSOC,” said Kerry Kirk Pflugh, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of the New Jersey School of Conservation. “This is $800,000 more than we received last year. We are extremely happy and are in a very good place to continue the restoration of the facility and build our programs back to pre-pandemic numbers.”

The school, located on 240 acres in Stokes State Forest in Sandyston, has taught teachers and students about environmentalism and conservation for decades.

However, when the state’s proposed 2025 budget allocated $800,000 to the school instead of the $3 million it had requested, Pflugh said it could be forced to delay much needed repairs and shut down some educational programs.

“Roofs need to be replaced; electrical systems and plumbing need to be upgraded; buildings need to be up to code,” she said in May. “When students stay over, we need personnel on hand to able to serve meals, have a cleaning service and administrative support. So to operate a 240-acre, 57-building facility, it takes money and personnel and that is what the needed $3 million would go to.”

Pflugh and her colleagues spent much of the spring meeting with state lawmakers and asking them to increase funding. The effort paid off.

“At this moment, we are hosting the Montclair Music Camp,” Pflugh said. “We are the site where the program originated, and they are so excited to be here. The hills are truly alive with the sound of music figuratively and literally.”