The town hall crowd showed up Wednesday night in Willingboro to lambaste Gov. Phil Murphy over how New Jersey will dole out aid to public schools in his first state budget proposal.

There was worry and anger. Some told Murphy he had let them down. One woman cried, and her 7-year-old son asked the Democratic governor why he likes "Jersey City more" than his south Jersey school district.

Murphy's response was immediate.

"I'm mad as heck, and I want to change this, too," Murphy said during the event at a recreational center.

The new governor promised the crowd of concerned educators, parents, and young students that he'll work with state lawmakers to revamp the state's oft-criticized school funding scheme.

Murphy said he will broach the topic during a meeting with legislative leaders Thursday -- though he did not provide any specifics on what he wants or might alter.

"The point is: It has to change, right?" Murphy said. "Count me as an ally to make this change."

This appears to be a shift for Murphy, who promised on the campaign trail to stick with but fully fund the weighted formula that New Jersey instituted in 2008 to disperse state aid to school districts. The state has underfunded the formula for years.

Murphy's first budget plan, unveiled last month, would not fully fund the formula right away.

Instead, he has proposed sending $283 million in additional aid to school districts -- the largest bump in a decade. Murphy has said that's the first step in a four-year ramp-up to full funding.

About 94 percent of districts would see an increase in aid, while none would see a decrease.

But critics say Murphy's plan gives only small increases to districts that are underfunded and too much to districts that are overfunded.

Many of those critics hail from south Jersey towns, where schools are often underfunded.

Wednesday's town hall in Willingboro, a Burlington County township, was near two of the districts that have been the most vocal on the issue: Kingsway regional in Gloucester County and Chesterfield in Burlington.

Jennifer Cavallaro-Fromm, a Kingsway school board member, said her district is being "shortchanged" by $20 million a year in aid. She warned that could lead to job losses and program cuts "because our school aid is not reflective of our population."

"We were all extremely proud to go into the booth to vote for you, governor," Cavallaro-Fromm told Murphy. "We voted for you because we believed in your promise for a stronger and fairer New Jersey. But we all felt let down by your school aid numbers."

Anita Dowlat, a parent from Chesterfield, noted how students in her district took time from their spring break this week to speak out at a recent legislative hearing on the budget.

"It makes me really emotional," a tearful Dowlat told Murphy. "These kids are worth more than 20 percent funding."

Her son, second-grader Braylin, also pressed Murphy.

"I came home the other day, and my mom said Jersey City is getting $1.8 million and we're getting $41,000," Braylin said. "So I asked her, 'Why does the governor like Jersey City more and give more money to Jersey City?'"

.@GovMurphy is confronted by parents over school funding. He blames @GovChristie and the state school funding formula. He says he is meeting with the N.J. Legislature tomorrow to discuss changing the formula. pic.twitter.com/2lleSsYb7E — Brent Johnson (@johnsb01) April 5, 2018

Murphy responded that he's "not falling into the trap" of pitting "one community versus another."

But he stressed the situation is "completely unacceptable."

Part of the blame, Murphy said, is that New Jersey is "digging out" after his predecessor, Republican Gov. Chris Christie, underfunded schools by $9 billion over the last eight years.

Plus, Murphy said, he is simply following the funding formula outlined by law.

He noted he needs the state Legislature to amend that law.

"I want to make sure you say we finally have somebody who will work with the Legislature," Murphy said. "I'm all in. You have my word on that. We're going to do everything we can to get this done."

"I know you all want us to get there tomorrow," he added. "I'm gonna get there as fast as I can. Help is on the way."

Gov. Phil Murphy hosts a town hall Wednesday at a recreational center in Willingboro in Burlington County.

The formula has long been a source of debate. Christie once called it "more confusing than the formula for old Coke."

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, negotiated with Christie last year to increase aid for districts considered underfunded according to the formula.

But Murphy didn't continue that in his proposed budget and instead stuck to the formula.

State lawmakers have already signaled they're willing to revise the school funding in Murphy's plan.

The Legislature has until June 30 to make changes. Murphy can line-item veto any changes before the budget must be signed into law July 1.

"We will fix that inequity in the final budget," state Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen, said during a budget hearing at Rowan University in Glassboro on Tuesday.

NJ Advance Media staff writers Adam Clark and Samantha Marcus contributed to this report.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.