>> Major Funding for NJ Spotlight News, provided by -- NJM Insurance Groups.

And by the PSEG foundation.

Briana: Tonight on "NJ Spotlight News" -- Governor Murphy looks to fully fund the school system for the first time in school history, but will every school get a part of the historic and basement?

>> Lombardy charter students to join a club, a sport, for everything.

Now we might have to charge them for more thing.

Briana: Also, towing the line.

Andy Kim and Tammy Murphy continued to trade jobs over everything from her poor Republican -- pro Republican past to the cow .

>> She's donated to causes including George W. Bush.

Briana: Plus the community that looks to rebuild after a fire destroys the only food pantry in the area.

>> Everybody has reached out.

It's more than I could've ever imagined.

It has made this week so much better than it could've been.

Briana: And what an extra $400 a month will do.

The city of Patterson looks to expand their guaranteed income program after a recent study touts its success.

>> We come to the office every day looking to have a positive impact on people's lives.

But not just a positive impact, improve their lives as well.

Briana: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ >> From NJ PBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi.

Briana: Good evening and thanks for joining us this Thursday night.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Governor Murphy is making big promises to New Jersey's public education system, proposing the single largest investment in state history to public schools, calling for a record $11.7 billion for K-12 education.

That's nearly a billion dollars more than last year's spending plan, but it does not mean every district in the state will get an increase -- will get an increase in their aid.

The school funding formula is causing what critics call winners and losers column each year.

Many have been on the so-called losing side for years.

Reporter: -- >> our administered and will invest under $11.7 billion in the state's public schools.

Reporter: Governor Murphy addressed a crowd today to announce his proposed budget for public schools this fiscal year which he characterized as -- >> The single largest investment into New Jersey's public education system and our entire history.

It's also the single largest investment in our entire budget, period.

Providing this funding to our public education system, we will become the first administration ever, as the mayor said, to fully fund New Jersey's school funding formula.

Reporter: This year marks the seventh and final year in the ramp up to fund the school funding formula that was modified through the legislature under a bill called S2 in 2008.

For some districts like Plainfield, those adjustments have meant annual increases.

>> We are expecting the increase to be just north of $30 million.

Reporter: What does that mean for you in terms of programs you are able to offer?

>> It enhances the CTA Pathways and facility needs, some spaces have to be built up for us to implement that type of programming in our district.

Reporter: CTE?

>> Career Technical Education pathways.

We are also moving forward with tutoring programs.

We modified our schedule at the middle school and high school level to provide more enrichment activities during the course of the day, student, course recovery, etc., we are expending extra-curricular activities and athletics which are also important for our students.

Reporter: Plainfield is the oldest school district in the state and the superintendent says much of their funding will also go to facilities improvements as well as teacher salary increases.

Plainfield falls among the 423 districts that received the good news today that their budgets will increase.

>> This budget allows us to move forward and fully support and operationalize our five-year strategic plan.

Without having conversations about what we need to take off the table in order to move forward.

Reporter: But it's not good news for everyone.

Under this budget, 140 school districts will see millions and cuts, and for some of them, it's been year after year of those cuts.

>> I don't know what else to cut, without hurting programs.

Class sizes are already in the 30's and 35's.

We are going to have a revenue side of the budget with a big hole that says we need $27 million.

And an expense side that stays flat from last year.

There is no other way to approach it.

Reporter: The superintendent pointed to the seven years of losses his district has seen under S2, which this year is a loss of $2.8 million.

The South Brunswick superintendent says they already operate under a pay to play in this district.

>> We charge our students for parking, to join a club, we already charge our students to join a sport, we charge our students for everything, now we might have to charge them for more things.

Taking classes could be a charge.

But unfortunately this time around we are approaching next year with a -$5.6 million, that is a nugget we need to find and that is going to be programs.

Reporter: Governor Murphy says this one doesn't fall on him.

>> I didn't come up with a formula.

Russ remember a couple of things historically.

The prior administration underfunded school funding by $9 billion.

It really did not let the funding formula worked.

Reporter: The governor said he is open to figuring out what comes next now that the state has met its obligation to fully fund the formula.

In Plainfield, I'm Joanna g. NJ Spotlight News.

.

Briana: The governor's proposed a spending plan was also heavy on funding progressive issues, including items related to reproductive rights, climate change and affordability.

Talking points that some argue could be seen through the lens of his wife, First Lady Tammy Murphy's U.S. Senate campaign.

Her foes believe she has an advantage with the Democratic machine because many of the party brokers have business and political interests tied to the governor's administration, a claim both Murphys vehemently denied.

For a deeper look I'm joined by Charlie style.

You make the case that the governor's speech could be seen through the lens of Tammy's campaign.

How so?

Charlie: I just think, broadly, somatically -- thematically, there was a lot of emphasis on liberal issues that are of major concern on a national level.

But the priority a -- The priority issues range from climate change,, voting rights, they have a tangential connection to the budget.

I took it substantially -- It sounded to me, it's very heavy on mentioning unions.

I think you mentioned unions -- He mentioned unions seven times.

It is an appeal to the liberal base that is right now, you know, somewhat discontent, disillusioned with the whole primary process.

A portion of that base, the Grassroots are pitch fork angry at her.

This is Murphy using the platform to remind the activists in the party, this is our agenda, our agenda aligns with yours.

Keep that in mind before you consider your choices for the U.S. Senate primary.

Briana: So almost a thinly veil ed appeal to that constituency.

The governor would probably say, I'm a progressive through and through.

His or issues that Championed from the jump since I got into office.

-- These are issues that Champion from the jump since I got into office.

Charlie: That is true.

That was scenes as a lens by which he was preparing for his own reelection.

He built his own staff tear.

Now he is in his lame-duck period.

You would think there would be more emphasis on a sort of fixing the nuts and bolts of government.

But what we heard primarily was a kind of recitation of that sort of campaign style theme.

And I think the person in the Murphy household who is running this time as his wife.

Briana: You are at least, from my reading, the first to sort of mention what could transpire after the June primary.

That's when we know the real horse-trading begins, when the budget negotiations get down to the wire, the constitutional deadline to balance the budget by July 1.

What are you foreseeing happening?

What potentially could have been during that month once they get to the primary and why does that matter -- through the primary and why does that matter?

Charlie: He rightly pointed out the real budget is in the final homestretch.

The last couple of weeks of June.

Sometimes even the couple -- the last couple of hours of June.

Very little gets done to the governor's proposal between now and that period.

We know that as a track record.

Now, that horse-trading, that delivery of legislative port that always comes at the end to secure votes and reward their people, that is going to be seen through, or being closely watched as, are these rewards to party activists, party officials who are supporting Tammy in exchange for their vote?

It may not happen but it's a legitimate question that hangs over the process right now, given the history of early -- release smelly horse-trading we have seen in the past.

Briana: [Laughter] Fair enough.

Charlie styles, columnist with the Bergen record.

Always good to talk to you.

Thank you so much.

Despite the advantages, political analysts say Tammy Murphy holds in the race.

Congressman Andy Kim has shown himself to be a formidable challenger, with his grassroots support and a recent lawsuit that is trying to dismantle a controversial party line system.

This week, four County clerks responded to that suit was a -- with a decisive message saying it is too late to intervene without upending the June primary election.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has the latest.

>> That's always the answer.

Do it some other time.

Reporter: But it is all about timing for U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim.

He filed a federal lawsuit this week against 19 County clerks to change Jersey's ballot system in time for the June 4 primary.

Kim's Suits calls the current county line ballot fundamentally unjust and undemocratic.

A judge will hear the case March 18th when the clerks will argue it is way too late to make such major ballot changes.

Mr. Kim has gotten himself the moniker Mr. daily and all their short.

Attorney John Carbone commented, "where the hell has he been?"

>> I've asked for changes, discussion and dialogue about this and gotten no response.

As a result, I've decided I have to take action through this legal route because we've got no other engagement from these County Clerks and others.

Reporter: Kim argues it's not too tight a turnaround for county clerks to redesign the ballot.

The federal judge promised a ruling by April but Carbone says there's not enough time to reprogram thousands of voting machines and mail ballots to military personnel overseas.

In a letter to the judge, he predicted cascading and rippling effects on the election, officials, candidates and voters.

It's a long shot lawsuit, says this writer.

>> I do think he has long odds.

It's been speculated he wins either way and that he either gets the relief he is seeking or to his supporters this is a system that is not fair play, evenhanded, and it just makes them angrier and redouble their efforts to make sure they got him elected.

Reporter: He says judges also generally abide by the U.S. Supreme Court's so-called personnel principle which advises not to intervene too close to an election.

Kim's won three county conventions with grassroot support so far but his opponent Tammy Murphy is expected to dominate in more populous counties where she has enjoyed the early endorsement of political bosses.

Meanwhile Murphy has launched her first campaign ad against the national rifle association.

>> This is the NRA's world headquarters.

It's where cowards work.

They know their guns are killing our kids but they don't care.

Reporter: Murphy promises to fight for universal background checks and a ban on assault style weapons.

The ad drew immediate backlash from Congressman Kim who noted before she left the GOP, Murphy supported Republicans who worked to weaken gun-control laws.

>> She has someone who has donated six-figure donations to Republican candidates and causes including George W. Bush who is someone who very much led the charge on ending the assault weapons ban on a number of other pieces of legislation that damaged our ability to have the kind of gun violence prevention efforts in this country, so the first lady needs to answer for that.

Reporter: Kim says his record confirms his support for gun control.

A Murphy spokesperson replied it's not surprising to see one of the most misleading and hypocritical campaigns in recent memory slam a positive message that all New Jersey Democrats should agree on.

It would be refreshing to see Andy Kim and his campaign put forward their own positive vision for New Jersey rather than attempting to tear down Tammy Murphy at every turn.

But Rasmussen thinks the criticism's valid.

>> As someone who has never held public office before, her past campaign contributions, those she chose to support, and her voter registration are her paper trail.

Reporter: County Democrats will continue to weigh in next week when Bergen holds its Democratic convention.

It is a Murphy stronghold where Kim is hoping to continue his convention momentum.

Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: The only food pantry in northern Hunterdon County has been forced to figure out how it will continue helping people in need.

After it was destroyed by a fire earlier this week that started at a neighboring Walgreens.

Despite being in one of the wealthiest counties in the state, the pantry serves more than 8000 clients a year.

As Ted Goldberg reports, the community is now united in an effort to ensure that no family goes hungry.

>> Everybody has reached out.

It's more than I could've ever imagined.

It has made this week so much better than it could have been.

Reporter: Despite a devastating fire, the open cupboard food pantry is still feeding people who need meals.

Their Quentin location burned down Sunday night so Jennifer t. says workers and volunteers worked hard to help more than 1000 clients in the aftermath.

>> After the initial impact, of just disbelief and when I found out, I was completely speechless, you know, we know that we can do this, we have the staff, the volunteers, we have already created the model that we know works, which is why we were able to open a second pantry in the southern part of the county, an identical replica of what we've done.

Reporter: She says clients will now get meals from that Warren County location or from the Flemington food pantry.

Open cupboard fed more than 7000 people last year.

But they face an uncertain future after that fire destroyed their thrift store.

A huge source of revenue.

>> That shop was able to sustain two separate pan treats -- pantries in its entirety.

Without that revenue, that will be our challenge.

That's what we've always done in the past, that is the model the agency is built on.

Doesn't mean we have to but that is what was generated such great success for us.

---- was generating such great success for us.

Reporter: Other counties are helping them figure things out in the short term.

>> We knew it was going to be a communitywide effort to do what we can for them and to address their immediate needs.

Reporter: Women for hybrid's president Colleen hands as if anyone has started or is in the middle of a food drive, they can drop things off at hybrid's reformed church like they did at this pottery.

>> We have a donation drive going on through the Highbridge Elementary school and middle school.

The borough of Highbridge, we send them information on the immediate need.

They put a PSA out in the entire borough.

>> We saw food drives popping up by -- up but there was no place for the food to go.

We said if you don't have a place to put the food, we are happy to hold it for you.

Reporter: She says people can also drop off ShopRite gift cards in Clinton or donate on open cupboard's website.

They say they are not using Gofundme for this and she is thrilled with how many people are pitching in.

>> There are so many people who want to help and I felt the best way to do this is release a couple of press releases and put it out on social media and get it on our website, these three avenues is what will streamline the process and get the most effective help to clients in the quickest way.

>> Highbridge is what we do.

We step up.

There is a need.

How do we get this done?

>> The open cupboard food pantry originated here in Highbridge.

That's what makes it especially important to us that we serve them.

Reporter: As for the future of open cupboard?

>> We will be back in Clinton whether it is that location or another one.

We intend to reopen in the Clinton location.

Reporter: She calls this a prime location.

And Open cupboard had been there for 15 years.

A staple of northern Hunterdon County fighting fire and adversity to feed the local community.

In Clinton, I'm Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: In our spotlight on business report, Patterson is looking to boost the quality of life are some of its lowest income residents by expanding a guaranteed income pilot program.

It launched three years ago and now has 200 participants who receive $400 a month with no strings attached.

Now with the backing of a national study touting the proven benefits, may or Andre Sayegh says -- mayor Andre Sayegh says he wants to open the pool of eligible residents even further.

>> We come to the office every day looking to have a positive impact on people's lives.

But not just a positive impact, improve their lives as well.

This has improved people's lives.

Reporter: Mayor Andre Sayegh applauded the impact the pilot program is making on families.

Residents who qualify receive $400 a month for a year after being selected through a lottery system.

>> We launched this program two years ago and received over 5000 applications.

A generous donation from Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter.

Gave us half $1 million.

He said, help people.

With that, we were able to help 110 randomly selected residents.

>> in DECEMBER, the city use funds from the American rescue plan to expand the program to 200 people.

>> It's going to make things a lot easier.

I try to do jobs for extra income so I can live long, live life.

I can relax a little bit now.

>> The program is improving the quality of life rather residents.

According to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania, participating families are experiencing increased food security as well as greater financial resiliency.

>> We know in the U.S., poverty can tumble really quickly.

Think of the proverbial flat tire.

When you are living on the margins like that, it can quickly tumble you into poverty.

Reporter: Amy Castro, The cofounder of the Center for guaranteed research, says this country has a long history with the idea of unconditional cash.

>> Thomas Payne wrote about it.

It was a topic and Dr. King's last book.

Fast forward to 1960's, 1970's, the U.S. experimented with the idea of guaranteed income through a series of negative income tax experiments and Patterson, New Jersey was one of those sites.

It was exciting to see the mayor wanted to sort of revive some of that history and implement it.

Reporter: Michael Tubbs who founded mayors for guaranteed income notes from his own experience a difference a little extra money can make.

>> I was born and raised in Stockton, California.

The city I was once a mayor of.

A single mom who worked incredibly hard.

No matter how hard she worked or how many jobs she had, it still was not enough.

She was always hustling.

She was always struggling.

And never saw her took -- I never saw her take a day off or quit.

It just felt like something structurally was wrong.

When I became mayor of Stockton, it was clear that poverty and food insecurity were pressing issues manifesting in education and crime etc.

>> The goal is to continue the programs' expansion including here and Patterson.

>> We have applied for an earmark in this state budget.

We are asking for $5.5 million because we want to help 1000 people.

We also want this to be a permanent part of the state budget.

Reporter: Single person households and families households earning up to 88,000 are eligible to apply for the guaranteed income program.

Legislation is also in the works to create pilots and other cities across the state.

Briana: It's a crisis averted for beer lovers.

Union workers at Anheuser-Busch reached a tentative labor agreement with the nation's largest brewer to avoid a strike at its U.S. plants, including the one in Newark.

According to the Teamsters union which represents some 5000 workers at Anheuser-Busch, the five-year tentative deal significantly boosts pay, improves health care and retirement benefits and offers more job protections for employees nationwide.

The current contract was set to expire at midnight tonight and would have been the first strike in the U.S. against the Brewers since 1970's.

The workers who brew and packaged beer and take care of the company's legendary Clydesdale horses are just the latest victors in what has been a string of big labor wins across the country.

It will vote to ratify that contract.

-- they will vote to ratify the contract.

Stocks slipped today but are still headed for a winning February.

Here's how the markets closed.

Make sure to tune into NJ Spotlight News with Ralph and Santana this weekend, looking into how New York's congestion plan will help communities.

Watch at 10 a.m. on the NJ spotlight news YouTube channel.

♪ That's going to do it for us tonight, but make sure you catch reporters roundtable tomorrow.

David Cruz kicks off the show looking at the budget backlash, talking to Michelle S., President and CEO of the New Jersey business and industry Association to get the business community reaction to Governor Murphy's proposed corporate transit for.

Than a panel of local reporters break down this week's political headlines -- Then a panel of local reporters break down this week's political headlines.

From the entire team, thanks for being with us.

Have a great evening.

See you right back here tomorrow.

>> New Jersey education Association.

Making public schools great for every child.

And RWJBarnabas Health, let's be healthy together.

♪