Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

 
     7-14-11 State GUIDANCE re: Using Additional State Aid as Property Tax Relief in this FY'12 Budget year.PDF
     7-14-11 DOE Guidance on Local Options for using Additional State School Aid in FY'12 State Budget.PDF
     FY'12 State School Aid District-by-District Listing, per Appropriations Act, released 110711
     7-12-11 pm District by District Listing of State Aid for FY'12 - Guidelines to be released later this week (xls)
     Democrat Budget Proposal per S4000, for Fiscal Year 2011-2012
     Additional School Aid [if the school funding formula,SFRA, were fully funded for all districts] per Millionaires' Tax bill S2969
     6-24-11 Democrat Budget Proposal brings aid to all districts
     6-1-11 Supreme Court Justice nominee, Anne Paterson, passed muster with Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday by 11-1 margin
     4-26-11 School Elections, Randi Weingarten in NJ, Special Educ Aid, Shared Services bill
     4-25-11 Charter Schools in Suburbia: More Argument than Agreement
     4-24-11 Major Education Issues in the News
     4-3-11Press of Atlantic City - Pending Supreme Court ruling could boost aid to New Jersey schools
     3-31-11 Charters an Issue in the Suburbs - and - So far, only 7 Separate Questions on April School Budget Ballots
     3-26-11 New Jersey’s school-funding battle could use a dose of reality
     3-25-11 Education Week on School Cutbacks Around The Nation
     Link to Special Master Judge Doyne's Recommendations on School Funding law to the Supreme Court 3-22-11
     GSCS 3-7-11Testimony on State Budget as Proposed by the Governor for FY'12 before the Senate Budget Committee
     Attached to GSCS 3-7-11 Testimony: Marlboro Schools strike historic agreement with instructional aides, bus drivers, bus aides
     GSCS - Local District Listing : Local Funds Transferred to Charter Schools 2001-2010
     GSCS Bar Chart: Statewide Special Education cost percent compared to Regular & Other Instructional cost percent 2004-2011
     GSCS Bar Chart: 2001to 2011 Statewide General Fund Transfers Required from Local District Budgets to Support Charter Schools (Increased from $85M to $317M)
     GSCS Take on Governor's Budget Message
     Gov's Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Today, 2pm
     8-18-10 Property Tax Cap v. Prior Negotiated Agreements a Big Problem for Schools and Communities
     7-22-10 'Summer school falls victim to budget cuts in many suburban towns'
     7-12-10 Assembly passes S29 - the 2% cap bill - 73 to 4, with 3 not voting
     7-8-10 Tax Caps, Education in the News
     GSCS:Tax Cap Exemption needed for Special Education Costs
     7-3-10 Governor Christie and Legislative leaders reached agreement today on a 2% property tax cap with 4 major exemptions
     7-1 and 2- 10 Governor Christie convened the Legislature to address property tax reform
     6-29-10 GSCS - The question remains: ? Whither property Tax Reform
     GSCS On the Scene in Trenton: State Budget poised to pass late Monday...Cap Proposals, Opportunity Scholarship Act in Limbo
     6-28-10 State Budget tops the news today
     GSCS On the Scene in Trenton: Cap Proposals, Opportunity Scholarship Act in Limbo
     6-25-10 Appropriations Act bills for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 available on NJ Legislature website - here are the links
     6-23-10 Trenton News: State Budget on the move...Education Issues
     6-22-10 The Appropriations Act for the State Budget Fiscal Year 2010-2011
     6-22-10 Budget , Cap Proposals & Education News - njspotlight.com
     6-11-10 In the News: State Budget moving ahead on schedule
     6-10-10 Op-Ed in Trenton Times Sunday June 6 2010
     6-8-10 (posted) Education & Related Issues in the News
     Office on Legislative Services Analysis of Department of Educaiton - State Budget for FY'11
     4-23-10 Education issues remain headline news
     4-22-10 School Elections - in the News Today
     4-21-10 DOE posts election results
     Hear about Governor Christie's noontime press conference tonight
     4-21-10 News on School Election Results
     4-21-10 Assoc. Press 'NJ voters reject majority of school budgets'
     4-20-10 Today is School Budget & School Board Member Election Day
     4-18-10 It's About Values - Quality Schools...Your Homes...Your Towns: Sunday front page story and editorial
     4-19-10 GSCS Testimony before the Assembly Budget Committee on State Budget FY'11
     4-13-10 Testimony submitted to Senate Budget Committee
     4-13-10 Commissioner Schundler before Senate Budget Committee - early reports....progress on budget election issue
     4-12-10 'Gov. urges voters to reject school districts' budgets without wage freezes for teachers'
     GSCS 'HOW-TO' GET TRENTON'S ATTENTION ON STATE BUDGET SCHOOL ISSUES FY '11' - Effective and Well-Reasoned Communication with State Leaders is Critical
     4-6-10 'Gov. Chris Chrisite extends dealdine for teacher salary concessions'
     4-6-10 'NJ school layoffs, program cuts boost attention to Apri 20 votes
     4-2-10 Press of Atlantic City lists county impact re: school aid reduction
     4-2-10 'On Titanic, NJEA isn't King of the World'
     Administration's presentation on education school aid in its 'Budget in Brief' published with Governor Christie's Budget Message
     PARENTS ARE CALLING TO EXPRESS THEIR CONCERNS FOR THE SCHOOL AID PICTURE - GSCS WILL KEEP YOU UP-TO-DATE
     4-1-10 Courier Post article reports on Burlington and Camden County district budgets
     4-1-10 Education in the News today
     4-1-10 New Initiatives outlined to encourage wage freezes - reaction
     3-31-10 What's Going on in Local Districts?
     3-29-10 The Record and Asbury Park Press - Editorials
     3-26-10 GSCS: Effective & Well-Reasoned Communication with State Leaders is Critical
     FAQ's on Pension Reform bills signed into law March 22, 2010
     3-26-10 School Aid, Budget Shortfall - Impt Related Issues - Front Page News
     3-25-10 STATE BUDGET FY11 PROCESS - IMPORTANT TRENTON DATES - April through May 2010
     3-23-10 GSCS Testimony presented to Senate Budget Committee on State Budget FY'11
     GSCS - Formula Aid Loss and Percent Loss by District - Statewide
     GSCS - Formula Aid Loss under 50%, by County
     GSCS - Formula Aid Loss of 50% or more, by County
     3-23-10 ' N.J. Gov. Chris Christie signs pension, benefits changes for state employees'
     3-23-10 State Budget Issues in the News
     3-21-10 Reform bills up for a vote in the Assembly on Monday, March 22
     GSCS FYI - GSCS will be testifying onTuesday in Bergen County on the State Budget
     3-21-10 Sunday News from Around the State - School Communities, School Budgets and State Budget Issues
     3-17-10 Budget News - Gov. Chris Christie proposes sacrifices
     3-17-10 Budget News - NJ Schools Stunned By Cuts
     3-16-10 Link to Budget in Brief publication
     3-15-10mid-day: 'Gov. Christie plans to cut NJ school aid by $800M'
     3-14-10 'Christie will propose constitutional amendment to cap tax hikes in N.J. budget'
     3-15-10 'N.J. taxpayers owe pension fund $45.8 billion' The Record
     3-11-10 Public Hearings on State Budget for FY11 posted on NJ Legislature website
     3-11-10 'GOP vows tools to cut expenses, tighter caps'
     3-9-10 'NJ leaders face tough choices on budget'
     Flyer: March 2 Education Summit Keynote Speaker - Education Commissioner Bret Schundler - Confirmed
     3-5-10 HomeTowne Video taping plus interviews of GSCS Summit@Summit
     3-5-10 GSCS Summit@Summit with Bret Schundler to be lead topic on Hall Institute's weekly 2:30 pm podcast today
     3-4-10 GSCS Email-Net: Summit @ Summit Report - A New Day in Trenton?
     3-4-10 'NJ education chief Bret Schundler tells suburban schools to expect more cuts in aid'
     3-4-10 'School aid cuts unavoidable during NJ budget crisis'
     3-3-10 'Public Education in N.J.: Acting NJ Comm of Educ Bret Schundler says 'Opportunity'
     2-24-10 'Tight funds raise class sizes that districts long sought to cut'
     2-22-10 Christie and unions poised to do batttle over budget cuts'
     2-22-10 Trenton Active Today
     2-19-10 'Acting NJ education commissioner hoping other savings can ward off cuts'
     Flyer for March 2 Education 'Summit@Summit'
     2-16-10 'Christie Adopts Corzine Cuts, Then Some'
     2-14-10 'FAQ's on NJ's state of fiscal emergency declaration by Gov. Christie'
     State Aid 2010 Reserve Calculation and Appeal Procedures
     2-12-10 News Coverage: Governor Christie's message on actions to address current fiscal year state budget deficits
     FY2010 Budget Solutions - PRESS PACKET
     School Aid Withheld Spreadsheet
3-21-10 Sunday News from Around the State - School Communities, School Budgets and State Budget Issues
Star Ledger - States increasingly take aim at teachers' tenure as legal fees mount to fire some The Record - Christie budget: Plenty of pain to go around

Asbury Park Press, Sunday 3-21-10 Will taxes soar under Governor’s plan?

Tough medicine: Gov. Chris Christie's proposed cap on public worker costs is a must By Star-Ledger Editorial Board

Editorial - Asbury Park Press Sunday 3-21-10 The proposed budget cuts are deep. But as Christie said, it is now up to the Legislature, municipalities, school boards and public unions to help soften the impact.

 

Star Ledger - States increasingly take aim at teachers' tenure as legal fees mount to fire some

By Jeanette M. Rundquist

March 21, 2010, 7:00AM

The East Orange school district spent a year in a legal fight before it could dismiss a teacher who, the district said, had struggled to manage her classroom and instruct her students.

The Trenton school district spent between $300,000 and $500,000 in legal fees trying to dismiss five teachers and five other staff members in the past five years, as well as nearly $600,000 in salaries for those suspended employees, according to the executive director in charge of legal affairs.

The school board in Lopatcong spent nearly four years and $350,000 to dismiss a teacher who had directed his elementary school students to give him back-rubs. That sum included legal fees, the cost of hiring substitutes to cover his classes, and more than $200,000 in salary paid during his suspension, according to the board attorney.

 

In all those cases, the teachers had tenure, a job protection meant to spare educators from being fired at the whim of a politically motivated school board — and one that can lead to protracted and expensive legal battles.

 

As states look for ways to improve schools and save money, a small but increasing number are taking aim at tenure. Maryland and Ohio are considering making it more difficult for teachers to earn the job protection. Last year the school chancellor in Washington, D.C., proposed offering teachers contracts without tenure in exchange for higher pay.

 

In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie’s education transition team has proposed increasing the time that teachers must work to earn tenure; requiring "rigorous" post-tenure reviews; and streamlining the process for removing tenured teachers. Changing tenure would require legislation.

"There’s just been such reluctance to whisper the words ‘tenure reform,’ " Piscataway superintendent Robert Copeland said. "But the time has come."

 

Tenure challenges are typically reserved for a small number of employees and the most severe cases. A review of 73 tenure cases from the past five years found they dealt with a range of issues, from excessive lateness or cursing at colleagues to criminal matters. Forty-one of the cases involved teachers, and 30 of those teachers were dismissed. The others were either reinstated, suspended or referred for additional teacher training.

 

Teacher tenure is a hot-button topic, especially in an economy in which many workers worry about job security. Critics often say that for New Jersey teachers, who earn an average of $63,000 a year, tenure amounts to a job for life. Supporters disagree, saying tenure provides a fair system to dismiss teachers while keeping politics and favoritism out of public schools.

 

"Because you’re dealing with children, it’s such an emotional area. If a parent has a lot of clout in a community, they could try to get a teacher to leave," said Ellen Levitan, a retired biology teacher who was president of the Montville district’s teachers union.

Anne Wessel, who teaches English at Madison High School in Morris County, said that she has "no problem" with tenure reform but that tenure is necessary.

 

"There can be a parent that’s gunning for a particular teacher, and who gets other parents to go after that teacher. ... I have seen some ugly situations like that," she said.

 

A STABLE STAFF

Many educators say tenure also creates a long-term relationship between teachers and their district, adding stability to schools by keeping educators from hopping between districts in search of better salaries and benefits.

 

Wessel added that tenure also protects freedom of ideas: "In some districts, teachers might not express themselves fully because they are afraid of losing their jobs. Once they get tenure, they feel freer to."

Roughly 80 percent of New Jersey’s 129,000 classroom teachers have tenure, said Steve Wollmer, communications director of the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union. School secretaries and administrators — except superintendents — also receive it, and in some districts custodians may be tenured.

 

New Jersey teachers earn tenure after three years and one day on the job, and in most cases cannot be fired without charges filed and hearings held.

 

A New Jersey district can bring tenure charges for inefficiency (poor performance), incapacity, unbecoming conduct, or "other just cause." Teachers accused of inefficiency must be given 90 days to correct problems before charges can be filed.

 

commissioner, who can uphold, modify or overturn it. Since 2005, the commissioner has ruled on fewer than two dozen tenure cases a year, according to Department of Education records.

 

The New Jersey School Boards Association estimates tenure cases, on average, take a year to resolve and cost upwards of $100,000.

 

Once tenure charges are brought, a teacher is suspended without pay for 120 days. Pay resumes on day 121 whether the charges have been resolved or not, unless the case involves criminal indictment.

School attorneys and officials say many more cases are settled than go to court.

 

The Morristown law firm Schwartz Simon Edelstein Celso & Zitomer, which represents about 100 school districts statewide, handles more than 125 cases per year involving tenured school employees, said Larry Schwartz, the firm’s managing director and a member of the Christie transition team. Of those, only about 12 to 20 a year go to administrative law courts.

 

"Many times a teacher will resign because the facts are overwhelming," Schwartz said.

Rarely, if ever, are tenure charges used to unfairly "go after" a teacher, he said. "I don’t believe so, at least not my clients," Schwartz said. "I’m not suggesting it’s never happened, but I don’t think it’s used for that purpose alone. It’s too involved and costly a procedure to use that way."

 

The stakes are high: Losing tenure can be a career-ender. After the commissioner revokes tenure, the case is referred to the state Board of Examiners for a decision on the teacher’s license.

Robert Higgins, director of the state Department of Education’s Office of Licensure and Credentials, said each case is decided on its merits, but he did not recall a case where the board did not revoke the license of someone who lost tenure.

 

The Lopatcong Board of Education became embroiled in a tenure case after a veteran special education teacher was suspended in June 2005, accused of inappropriate physical contact with students. The board filed tenure charges five months later. The case was not resolved until March 2009, when the commissioner ordered the teacher dismissed, according to court records.

 

The teacher was found to have committed unbecoming conduct for a series of incidents that stretched back years, including directing his third-grade students to give him back-rubs.

The board attempted to resolve the case, according to board attorney John Comegno, whose firm, Comegno Law Group of Moorestown, represents about three dozen districts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. But it ultimately involved 11 days of court hearings, including the testimony of children.

 

With the exception of the 120 unpaid days, the teacher received his salary while on suspension from June 2005 until March 2009, Comegno said. State records show his annual salary was $68,600.

"What was particularly painful to the public, or the taxpayers, is that this misconduct alleged was proven," Comegno said. "This is a smaller K-8 district. Those hundreds of thousands of dollars could have been much better spent toward instruction, extracurricular programming, in-service (training) or other programs or activities which would have benefitted students academically."

Neither the former Lopatcong teacher nor his attorney responded to requests for comment.

 

OPEN TO TALKS

Many educators say the time and expense it takes to resolve a tenure case are among the system’s biggest problems. The Christie transition team called for "strict adherence to the six-month time frame for resolution of charges," and said a teacher’s suspension without pay should coincide with the time spent resolving the charges.

 

The team also saw a need for "rigorous" reviews of teachers after they receive tenure. Teachers generally are observed in the classroom at least once a year after they become tenured — compared with several observations and follow-up conferences each year before, said Frank Palatucci, principal at Highland Regional High School in Camden County.

 

But the evaluation process is not uniform statewide, he said.

Wollmer of the NJEA said, "Teachers welcome rigorous evaluations." He added that the NJEA has supported past efforts to streamline the tenure-removal process and would be open to talking about it again.

 

"The one thing that cannot be sacrificed is fairness," Wollmer said.

Christie’s transition team also recommended requiring that teachers work for five years instead of three before earning tenure. That would better train and prepare teachers, said Mike Ritacco, Toms River superintendent and member of the Christie education transition team.

 

The NJEA has not taken a position on that suggestion, but Wollmer said there is no evidence that adding two years would better guarantee a good teacher.

Others argue tenure reforms are overdue.

 

"The system needs to be flexible enough to say, ‘You’re not living up to the expectations of this district at this time,’ and once you’ve been given appropriate support, if you aren’t still making the mark, ‘You need to go elsewhere,’" said Piscataway’s Copeland. "That happens in all jobs. It shouldn’t not happen in something as important as education."

Jeanette Rundquist may be reached at jrundquist@starledger.com. Kristen Alloway may be reached at kalloway@starledger.com.

 

Policy Watch, Politics, Statehouse, Taxes »

Tough medicine: Gov. Chris Christie's proposed cap on public worker costs is a must

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board/The Star-Led...

March 21, 2010, 5:30AM

Governor Chris Christie delivers his budget address in the Assembly Chamber March 16, 2010
In the long run, the most important move Gov. Chris Christie has made to shrink government is not his cuts to mass transit, or higher education, or even the public schools.

It is his plan to impose a cap of 2.5 percent on annual increases in labor costs and property taxes. That would bend the cost curve for local government in New Jersey for years to come. It offers taxpayers a chance to gain control over a collective bargaining process that has gone off the rails.

Take a hard look at the problem. New Jersey has the nation’s highest paid police officers and firefighters, and our teachers are close behind. They earn significantly more than the typical taxpayer. And most of them are getting healthy raises this year, despite the crushing recession.

Benefits are even more out of whack. It’s not unusual for senior police officers to retire with a cash payment of $100,000 or even $200,000 for unused sick and vacation time, along with a lifetime pension equal to 70 percent of their highest salary. Teachers, coddled by tenure protection for most of their careers, get Cadillac health care plans for life, usually without paying a penny on premiums.

This is plainly not sustainable. Most of these costs are paid for with property taxes, already the highest in the nation. And relieving the pressure with more state aid is not possible. Trenton is broke.

Labor costs make up the bulk of public spending, and the governor knows he can’t deliver on his promise to shrink government without confronting this problem head-on. He has proposed changes in the negotiating rules that will give taxpayers a fighting chance at the bargaining table. But his big gun is the proposed cap on property taxes, and a companion cap on labor costs.

Here it makes sense to look at the wildly different experience of California and Massachusetts.

In 1978 California’s Proposition 13 imposed a rock-hard cap on that wound up wrecking one of the nation’s best school systems. They solved the tax problem at the expense of their kids’ futures.

In 1980, Massachusetts found a smarter way. It placed a 2.5 percent cap on property taxes, but allowed local voters to override that cap in a referendum. About half the referendums seeking more spending and higher taxes have passed.

Yes, some towns have laid off cops and teachers, closed libraries and senior centers, and ended recreation programs. This isn’t magic.

But Massachusetts has protected the essentials, including maintaining one of the nation’s best school systems. Its property taxes, once neck-and-neck with New Jersey’s, are now below average.

Now, for the crucial details. Christie wants to enshrine the cap on property taxes in a Constitutional Amendment. He suggest a statute to establish a companion 2.5 percent cap on labor costs.

The Legislature needs to hear testimony from schools and towns to test whether the 2.5 percent limit is realistic in a day when health costs are rising so rapidly.

Public employees will have to contribute more to their own benefit packages. Beyond that, the goal should be to freeze salaries in the short term, then allow modest increases to keep pace with inflation. Without hitting those marks, property taxes will continue to spiral.

The hearings should also explore way to improve on the Massachusetts model. The chief concern there is that the cap may be hitting working-class towns and cities harder than wealthy suburban towns. The reason is that wealthier towns more often vote to exceed the cap.

Again, the Legislature needs to get into the weeds. If this means that a town like Hoboken can’t afford to build a pool in a new school, that’s fine. If it means a town like Bloomfield has to cheapen its core academic programs, that’s not.

A final word about the governor: We are lucky to have a fighter in this office now, a guy who is willing to take on the public worker unions.

But he is showing a blindness to the issue of wealth and poverty in this state, which is closely tied to the issue of race. His cuts are landing hardest on lower-income families, even as he proposes to lower taxes for the wealthiest 2 percent.

The Legislature needs to guard against that, even as we search for ways to lighten the burden of property taxes.

 

Series: Going broke -- The high cost of public workers

Part I: It's time: Freeze N.J. public workers' pay, change bargaining rules

Part II: New Jersey's public worker bargaining rules are rigged

Part III: Sick days have become golden parachutes for N.J. public workers

Part IV: 'Reckless' Atlantic City: New Jersey state government must stop the money drain

Drew Sheneman's cartoon

 

 

Asbury Park Press, Sunday 3-21-10

Will taxes soar under Governor’s plan?

By Rick Malwitz

There is a way for municipalities to make up for the reduction in state aid proposed by Gov. Chris Christie.

But is there the will?

State law bars school districts from raising property taxes by more than 4 percent. However, they can exceed the 4 percent ceiling to compensate for the loss of state aid.

For example, the Marlboro Township school district learned Wednesday state aid would be reduced by about $2.1 million. The reduction in Marlboro and elsewhere in Christie's $28.3 billion budget allowed him to pare the state budget by $4 billion, without raising state income and sales taxes.

exceed the 4 percent ceiling and maintain the schools as they were by compensating for the loss in state aid with an increase in property taxes — by a wide margin the most distasteful tax to most New Jersey residents.

Christie's proposal drew an immediate response from Assemblyman John Wisniewski, D-Middlesex, chairman of the State Democratic Committee.

"Over and over when defending his policy positions, Gov. Christie has said, "This is what I was elected to do.' I must have missed the election where people voted for a governor to impose the single-biggest property tax increase in state history," said Wisniewski.

That election was in November, and the people — despite Wisniewski's concern — should not fear hikes in property taxes to fund schools, some officials say.

Instead, students and parents should brace for the loss of such "luxury" items as music lessons, freshmen sports and courtesy busing. Teachers and staff must brace themselves for the loss of jobs.

Marlboro could be spared these losses by hiking the property tax. But is there a will to sell this, in a township where the average property tax bill is already $9,244 this year?

"No," said David Abbott, the superintendent of schools. "Not this superintendent. Not this board of education."

In order to sell the budget to the public, Abbott hosted meetings throughout the township explaining the details of a $78,197,024 budget, an increase of 0.07 percent. That budget was based on a reduction of state aid of $2,184,890.

Then came the numbers from Trenton on Wednesday when the district learned the reduction would actually be $3,918,084.

 

How can the budget be pared to bare bones?

Do the math, says Abbott. Salaries and benefits make up about 83 percent of the district budget.

Abbott is blunt about the implications of the reduction in state aid. "There is no way you can do this without taking bodies."

If there is a district willing to crack the 4 percent ceiling, it will be a rare one, some officials believe.

"I don't expect anyone to ask. The political will is not there,," said Patrick Piegari, the Middlesex County Superintendent of Schools, whose office would have to approve the hike.

"Unless I'm reading the mood of the public wrong, I would doubt very much anyone would come to me, asking to go above 4 percent," said Carole Knopp Morris, the Monmouth County Superintendent of Schools.

The public mood is what put Christie in office, says Bret Schundler, a conservative Republican who was the governor's choice for Commissioner of Education.

"Even though they have the statutory authority to exceed the (4 percent), that doesn't mean they have to, that doesn't mean they should," said Schundler.

Should they crack the ceiling, Schundler said his office in Trenton will examine the budget line by line and cut spending it deems wasteful.

What could change the public mood are the implications of budget cuts.

"There is no political will in the abstract to raise property taxes. But once parents feel the brunt of cuts — when they drop fourth-grade music, seventh-grade language, go to bigger classrooms — the will may change," said Ben 002 ? 0009.01Dworkin, the director of the Rider Institute for New Jersey Politics

Residents may also lament any decline in reputation of a school district, said Dworkin. "Property values are driven in part by the perception of the quality of the schools. Every town wants to say, "We have great schools.' Once you start cutting millions (from school budgets) this becomes a harder sell."

"There are a lot of unknowns, and a lot of pressure on the districts," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.

Parents will be watching, said Murray. "They will say, "You're cutting my kid's basketball team, but not cutting the superintendent's transportation allowance'."

The solution is to raise property taxes.

In New Jersey?

"That won't sell very well," said Murray.

 

 

 

Editorial - Asbury Park Press Sunday 3-21-10

It didn't take long for the protests, demonstrations and caterwauling from the special interests to start up following Gov. Chris Christie's budget address last week.

 

No surprise there. The cuts  are deep. But as Christie said, it is now up to the Legislature, municipalities, school boards and public unions to help soften the impact.

Did Christie, who pledged to balance the budget without raising taxes, simply push the problem onto local governments and the schools, as his critics have charged? Absolutely. That's exactly what he did. And exactly what he needed to do.

Only about one-fifth of the state's $29 billion budget goes toward operating the state's executive and legislative branches. Most of the rest is distributed in the form of state aid to towns, school districts and other public entities. If government spending is to be brought under control, that's where most of the work needs to be done.

Many Christie critics, including the leaders of the public employee unions and the Democratic lawmakers who helped create this fiscal mess in the first place, complain the cuts in state aid to schools and towns will inevitably lead to massive layoffs.

There is nothing inevitable about it. The Legislature can at least minimize the damage by doing what Christie has asked of it: Institute some of the reforms he has recommended for averting the layoffs now. That means no recess for the Legislature. Typically lawmakers are on hiatus from the end of March through early May, except for those who serve on the two legislative budget committees.

Given the severity of the crisis, the Legislature should stay in session until the reforms suggested by Christie are debated, approved and implemented. There is no time to spare. If lawmakers sit on their hands, they have no one to blame but themselves for the painful consequences of Christie's budget plan.

The most critical reforms needed to head off what could be substantial property tax hikes include reducing the cap on property taxes from 4 percent to 2.5 percent, repealing a provision of the cap law that provides automatic cap growth to offset decreases in state aid, limiting cap exemptions and passing legislation that will require all public employees to contribute at least 10 percent of their health insurance premiums — rather than the 1.5 percent up for a vote Monday in the Assembly.

The public employee unions can help avert layoffs — and send a signal to the taxpayers they have alienated by negotiating contracts that have helped make New Jersey the most heavily taxed state in the union — by signaling a willingness to make immediate concessions.

Lawmakers and taxpayers can quibble about the details of where the budget cuts should come from. And they surely will over the next few months. But school budgets for next year will be finalized this month and submitted to voters on April 20. Municipal budgets must be sent to the state for approval next month. Local officials need to know now whether the Legislature is going to watch from the sidelines or take steps immediately that can help ease the pain of taxpayers and public employees.

The unions and the Democrats in the Legislature have a choice: They can gripe or they can act quickly and responsibly to ease the crisis they helped create.

 

 

The  Record: Follow all the stories of Governor Christie's first 100 days, plus stories from the transition and the race for governor.

 

Christie: First 100 Days

 

Christie budget: Plenty of pain to go around

Sunday, March 21, 2010
Last updated: Sunday March 21, 2010, 9:13 AM

The Record

BY THE RECORD’S STAFF

Governor Christie did more than lay out budget cuts last week. He launched a full-scale attack on government spending, from the town halls to the State House.

And he’s not backing down after a week of protests by public workers and outcry from school and local government officials.

"Everybody knew this day was coming," Christie told The Record’s editorial board on Friday.

If Christie’s budget clears the Legislature, it will affect many groups in New Jersey.

There will be less money for school districts, municipalities, colleges and NJ Transit. And no one will get property tax rebates in 2010 if Christie’s budget clears the Legislature unchanged. Every state department will also get less money for operations, and government employees at all levels are facing reforms that will affect their health and pension benefits.

Christie showed no signs of bending during his 70-minute interview.

"I have a great sense of comfort about where we are because I know there are not a lot of alternatives," he said.

Business owners

Compared to most constituencies, business leaders are almost giddy at Christie’s budget message.

They find little to fault in the governor’s pro-growth rhetoric, after eight years of complaining that the Governor’s Office is too closely aligned with unions, the state business climate stifles job creation and taxes are scaring off new businesses.

The business sector didn’t get off scot-free. Christie cut half the $60 million budget for a program that gives tax credits to high-tech companies and the entire $15 million pool of tax credits available for film and digital production companies.

Employers will no longer be eligible for a $3,000 grant for each new job created under the Invest NJ program, whose budget was eliminated.

Yet the cuts are modest, given that some employers could see a 4 percent drop in their corporate business tax if Christie is able to let a surcharge expire in June. Small-business owners also could pay less in tax as a result of Christie’s pledge not to renew an income tax hike enacted last year as an emergency measure. It affects small businesses taxed through their owners’ incomes.

Perhaps the biggest prize for some local retailers, however, is a Christie plan to repeal Bergen County’s blue laws — allowing retailers to open on Sundays.

— Hugh R. Morley

College students

The state’s public colleges and universities will grapple with a $175 million aid cut that is also likely to force layoffs, cutbacks and tuition hikes. The schools, with an average tuition of $11,000, are already among the most expensive in the nation.

The head of the association representing many of the schools, Darryl Greer, called the cuts "disappointing and harmful to the state’s long-term interests."

— Patricia Alex

Government employees

Collective bargaining reforms, civil service changes, health insurance cost shares and pension rule modifications are all being pushed by Christie in an effort to cut government costs at all levels. As many as 1,300 state employees will lose their jobs to layoffs, and school districts and municipal governments are saying they may also have to enact layoffs to offset state aid cuts.

Christie is also not funding the state share of this year’s pension contribution to save $3 billion.

— John Reitmeyer

Health care consumers

The state budget increases the amount of aid for hospitals by $11 million, or 1.3 percent, but eliminates programs that would have provided insurance coverage to 50,000 low-income adults.

Generous eligibility standards for children to enroll in subsidized health insurance remain intact. But the governor called a halt to additional enrollment of parents of eligible children on March 10, and continues the freeze through the next fiscal year, for anticipated savings of $25 million. In addition, he terminated subsidized insurance coverage for 11,000 low-income legal resident aliens, as of April 1, to save $30 million more.

Senior citizens who receive prescription coverage under the PAAD or Senior Gold programs are likely to face higher out-of-pocket costs because of a new requirement that they meet a $310 annual deductible, starting in 2011. PAAD recipients’ copayment for brand-name drugs will increase from $7 to $15; their co-payment for generic prescriptions will drop by $1 to $5.

The budget anticipates $45 million in new tax revenues from hospitals and ambulatory-surgery centers through elimination of the caps on specialized taxes affecting them. This will be matched by the federal government, and redistributed to hospitals under a revamped charity-care formula, resulting in a net increase of $11 million in funding to hospitals, according to the budget.

Tougher investigation and prosecution of Medicaid fraud is expected to yield an additional $40 million in revenue. And the elimination of state support for family-planning programs and anti-smoking programs, and of nursing staff in state buildings, is expected to produce more savings.

— Lindy Washburn

Environment advocates

State funding for the Department of Environmental Protection was not cut as severely as that of many other agencies and no state parks are marked for closure — though some may be privatized.

The DEP budget would be reduced by about 2 percent to $381 million, from $387 million in 2010. The major hit would be at the DEP’s Office of Climate and Energy, whose main source of funding — quarterly auctions of greenhouse gas emissions — is being taken away to balance the budget.

Since late 2008 when it joined, New Jersey has reaped more than $64 million from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program that includes nine other Northeastern states. Those revenues are supposed to be used for greenhouse gas emissions programs. State law requires stabilization of statewide greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

— Scott Fallon

Motorists and commuters

Under the governor’s plan, the state Department of Transportation’s funding would be cut 4.3 percent, or $56.3 million — one of the largest cuts in the agency’s history.

NJ Transit’s state subsidies will be cut 11 percent this year. The agency has already said it plans to raise fares by 25 percent and reduce top-level administrative salaries to help replace the funding.

The governor has also proposed closing Motor Vehicle Commission agencies on Mondays and increasing Saturday customer-service hours. Four agencies would be closed entirely.

— Tom Davis

Property tax payers

No property tax rebates in 2010, but Christie has left $270 million in funding for a tax credit he wants to establish in 2011. The rebate allocation used to be as high as $2 billion.

But Christie also has proposed a 2.5 percent cap on future property tax hikes by local governments that would be enacted through a constitutional amendment that could get on the ballot as soon as this November.

Municipal aid, which is often used to soften property tax hikes, is set to decrease by $271 million to $1.3 billion. Other programs that help troubled cities are also being cut.

— John Reitmeyer

School districts

The budget includes $820 million in cuts in school aid to local districts that are still grappling with a $475 million cut that forced them to use surplus funds to meet current obligations.

Bergen County will get $102 million less in state aid for schools — a drop of 41 percent, the steepest cut in the state. Passaic County’s aid will drop by $64 million.

Indeed, local educators warned that cutbacks are likely in addition to layoffs. Extracurricular activities and elective offerings may be slashed. Class sizes are likely to grow.

— Patricia Alex

Page 1 2 3 >>

Governor Christie did more than lay out budget cuts last week. He launched a full-scale attack on government spending, from the town halls to the State House.

And he’s not backing down after a week of protests by public workers and outcry from school and local government officials.

 

"Everybody knew this day was coming," Christie told The Record’s editorial board on Friday.

If Christie’s budget clears the Legislature, it will affect many groups in New Jersey.

There will be less money for school districts, municipalities, colleges and NJ Transit. And no one will get property tax rebates in 2010 if Christie’s budget clears the Legislature unchanged. Every state department will also get less money for operations, and government employees at all levels are facing reforms that will affect their health and pension benefits.

Christie showed no signs of bending during his 70-minute interview.

"I have a great sense of comfort about where we are because I know there are not a lot of alternatives," he said.

Business owners

Compared to most constituencies, business leaders are almost giddy at Christie’s budget message.

They find little to fault in the governor’s pro-growth rhetoric, after eight years of complaining that the Governor’s Office is too closely aligned with unions, the state business climate stifles job creation and taxes are scaring off new businesses.

The business sector didn’t get off scot-free. Christie cut half the $60 million budget for a program that gives tax credits to high-tech companies and the entire $15 million pool of tax credits available for film and digital production companies.

Employers will no longer be eligible for a $3,000 grant for each new job created under the Invest NJ program, whose budget was eliminated.

Yet the cuts are modest, given that some employers could see a 4 percent drop in their corporate business tax if Christie is able to let a surcharge expire in June. Small-business owners also could pay less in tax as a result of Christie’s pledge not to renew an income tax hike enacted last year as an emergency measure. It affects small businesses taxed through their owners’ incomes.

Perhaps the biggest prize for some local retailers, however, is a Christie plan to repeal Bergen County’s blue laws — allowing retailers to open on Sundays.

— Hugh R. Morley

College students

The state’s public colleges and universities will grapple with a $175 million aid cut that is also likely to force layoffs, cutbacks and tuition hikes. The schools, with an average tuition of $11,000, are already among the most expensive in the nation.

The head of the association representing many of the schools, Darryl Greer, called the cuts "disappointing and harmful to the state’s long-term interests."

— Patricia Alex

 

Collective bargaining reforms, civil service changes, health insurance cost shares and pension rule modifications are all being pushed by Christie in an effort to cut government costs at all levels. As many as 1,300 state employees will lose their jobs to layoffs, and school districts and municipal governments are saying they may also have to enact layoffs to offset state aid cuts.

Christie is also not funding the state share of this year’s pension contribution to save $3 billion.

— John Reitmeyer

Health care consumers

The state budget increases the amount of aid for hospitals by $11 million, or 1.3 percent, but eliminates programs that would have provided insurance coverage to 50,000 low-income adults.

Generous eligibility standards for children to enroll in subsidized health insurance remain intact. But the governor called a halt to additional enrollment of parents of eligible children on March 10, and continues the freeze through the next fiscal year, for anticipated savings of $25 million. In addition, he terminated subsidized insurance coverage for 11,000 low-income legal resident aliens, as of April 1, to save $30 million more.

Senior citizens who receive prescription coverage under the PAAD or Senior Gold programs are likely to face higher out-of-pocket costs because of a new requirement that they meet a $310 annual deductible, starting in 2011. PAAD recipients’ copayment for brand-name drugs will increase from $7 to $15; their co-payment for generic prescriptions will drop by $1 to $5.

The budget anticipates $45 million in new tax revenues from hospitals and ambulatory-surgery centers through elimination of the caps on specialized taxes affecting them. This will be matched by the federal government, and redistributed to hospitals under a revamped charity-care formula, resulting in a net increase of $11 million in funding to hospitals, according to the budget.

Tougher investigation and prosecution of Medicaid fraud is expected to yield an additional $40 million in revenue. And the elimination of state support for family-planning programs and anti-smoking programs, and of nursing staff in state buildings, is expected to produce more savings.

— Lindy Washburn

Environment advocates

State funding for the Department of Environmental Protection was not cut as severely as that of many other agencies and no state parks are marked for closure — though some may be privatized.

The DEP budget would be reduced by about 2 percent to $381 million, from $387 million in 2010. The major hit would be at the DEP’s Office of Climate and Energy, whose main source of funding — quarterly auctions of greenhouse gas emissions — is being taken away to balance the budget.

Since late 2008 when it joined, New Jersey has reaped more than $64 million from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program that includes nine other Northeastern states. Those revenues are supposed to be used for greenhouse gas emissions programs. State law requires stabilization of statewide greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

— Scott Fallon

Motorists and commuters

Under the governor’s plan, the state Department of Transportation’s funding would be cut 4.3 percent, or $56.3 million — one of the largest cuts in the agency’s history.

NJ Transit’s state subsidies will be cut 11 percent this year. The agency has already said it plans to raise fares by 25 percent and reduce top-level administrative salaries to help replace the funding.

The governor has also proposed closing Motor Vehicle Commission agencies on Mondays and increasing Saturday customer-service hours. Four agencies would be closed entirely.

— Tom Davis

 

Property tax payers

No property tax rebates in 2010, but Christie has left $270 million in funding for a tax credit he wants to establish in 2011. The rebate allocation used to be as high as $2 billion.

But Christie also has proposed a 2.5 percent cap on future property tax hikes by local governments that would be enacted through a constitutional amendment that could get on the ballot as soon as this November.

Municipal aid, which is often used to soften property tax hikes, is set to decrease by $271 million to $1.3 billion. Other programs that help troubled cities are also being cut.

— John Reitmeyer

School districts

The budget includes $820 million in cuts in school aid to local districts that are still grappling with a $475 million cut that forced them to use surplus funds to meet current obligations.

Bergen County will get $102 million less in state aid for schools — a drop of 41 percent, the steepest cut in the state. Passaic County’s aid will drop by $64 million.

Indeed, local educators warned that cutbacks are likely in addition to layoffs. Extracurricular activities and elective offerings may be slashed. Class sizes are likely to grow.

— Patricia Alex