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Date: 2005/06/04 Saturday Page: 021 Section: NEWS Edition: FINAL Size: 799 words

Series: CAMPAIGN 2005

Schundler, Forrester pitch education plans

By JOHN MOONEY
STAR-LEDGER STAFF

Both centering their campaigns on pledges to reduce property taxes, the two front-runners for the Republican gubernatorial nomination yesterday turned their focus to the chief source of those taxes: public education.

Bret Schundler and Doug Forrester laid out their respective plans - and some notable differences - before a breakfast meeting of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, taking on topics such as school spending curbs, the Abbott v. Burke rulings, and private school vouchers.

Although the two did not directly debate, it was one of their last joint appearances before next Tuesday's GOP primary, and the first focusing almost entirely on schools.

For each of them, it was a chance to repeat their respective property tax plans and lay out the impact they would have on schools.

The coalition is an organization of mostly suburban districts.

Schundler's plan would be to rein in spending on all levels of government through limits set by constitutional amendment.

But he claimed his limits would do little harm to most local districts already living within their means.

Ultimately under his plan, Schundler said, the state could almost fully fund schools and municipal services.

"Year after year after year, your state aid would go up dramatically," he said. "But if you don't have any controls (on local spending), there would be no guarantee of property tax reduction."

Schundler said his plan would have its greatest impact on the spending in the 31 districts served by the Supreme Court's Abbott decision of 1998, which aims to improve programs in the state's neediest schools.

"The Abbott decision has not successfully addressed the problems," he said. "It has led to too much money being put into some districts, and not enough in many others."

While Schundler stopped short of saying the Abbott decision should be revisited altogether, Forrester was much more critical.

Calling the decision "flawed," he said he would abide by the court's edicts if elected but seek to ultimately overturn them in the appointment of more conservative justices.

The next governor will have at least two appointments to the high court, including the next chief justice.

"The problem needs to be solved with justices appointed to the Supreme Court who have a better sense of judicial restraint," he said.

Forrester barely mentioned schools in his opening remarks, instead speaking generally of his plan to battle corruption and waste, reduce state spending, and return the savings to local property owners in the form of tax relief.

He has pledged to reduce local tax bills by 30 percent over three years.

About half of all property taxes statewide comes from local school spending.

The issue of school vouchers that dominated Schundler's unsuccessful bid for governor four years ago has barely surfaced in this campaign. But Schundler said yesterday he remains a staunch backer of vouchers and would still support a pilot program.

"We will never reform education in the cities if we don't move toward school choice," he said. "We need to give parents a different ways to force accountability, and school choice is one of those ways."

Forrester said he opposed vouchers, but does support public charter schools, which are independent schools run on public dollars. "I think charter schools are an avenue that can provide competition and not threaten the funding of other public schools," he said.

One issue barely broached by the candidates was the new spending caps already on local districts, imposed under former Gov. James E. McGreevey. Officials say they will lead to either deep cuts or drastic tax increases next year.

Schundler and Forrester said they opposed the caps, known by Senate bill number, S-1701. But neither said they would repeal them.

Schundler said his own constitutional limits would be more effective. Forrester said they should be allowed to stand to determine their true impact.