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… “Not everyone is sure the decision will be that far-reaching. The original Abbott vs. Burke case focuses on only 31 urban districts, including Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton and Pleasantville, which as a result of previous Supreme Court decisions have each received tens of millions of dollars in additional state aid. "There has been a lot of discussion about this," said Frank Belluscio, president of the New Jersey School Boards Association. "The complaint asks for full funding of the school-funding law, and that would apply to a wide range of districts. But if the court rules the proposed funding is unconstitutional, we could go back to the old system that just gave the Abbotts special status.
"… Lynne Strickland, director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, said a concern among the almost 400 remaining school districts is that they might be considered to be spending too much. "If adequacy becomes the new benchmark, then the next question is why are almost 400 districts spending more?" she said. "This decision could be playing out in ways that haven't been foreseen."
Strickland said 14 of her members are on the under-funded list, so they are watching the court case carefully to see if the decision will apply statewide or be limited to the 31 Abbott districts. "It just isn't clear to us," she said.
Press of Atlantic City - Pending Supreme Court ruling could boost aid to New Jersey schools
Posted: Saturday, April 2, 2011 9:23 pm
… “Not everyone is sure the decision will be that far-reaching. The original Abbott vs. Burke case focuses on only 31 urban districts, including Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton and Pleasantville, which as a result of previous Supreme Court decisions have each received tens of millions of dollars in additional state aid.
"There has been a lot of discussion about this," said Frank Belluscio, president of the New Jersey School Boards Association. "The complaint asks for full funding of the school-funding law, and that would apply to a wide range of districts. But if the court rules the proposed funding is unconstitutional, we could go back to the old system that just gave the Abbotts special status."… Lynne Strickland, director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, said a concern among the almost 400 remaining school districts is that they might be considered to be spending too much. "If adequacy becomes the new benchmark, then the next question is why are almost 400 districts spending more?" she said. "This decision could be playing out in ways that haven't been foreseen."
Strickland said 14 of her members are on the under-funded list, so they are watching the court case carefully to see if the decision will apply statewide or be limited to the 31 Abbott districts. "It just isn't clear to us," she said.
By DIANE D'AMICO Education Writer pressofAtlanticCity.com | 0 comments
The next New Jersey Supreme Court ruling on whether the state must provide more funding to its public schools could affect more than just the 31 urban Abbott school districts.
Among those paying close attention are another 187 mostly suburban and rural districts, many of which have been under-funded for years, including 14 districts in Atlantic County, seven in Cumberland County and two each in Cape May and southern Ocean County.
"This isn't about the Abbott districts at all anymore," said David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center, which is leading the fight to force the state to fund the new school-aid formula. "Abbotts no longer exist. Now it's about all at-risk kids. But it has been hard to get that message across."
Not everyone is sure the decision will be that far-reaching. The original Abbott vs. Burke case focuses on only 31 urban districts, including Vineland, Millville, Bridgeton and Pleasantville, which as a result of previous Supreme Court decisions have each received tens of millions of dollars in additional state aid.
"There has been a lot of discussion about this," said Frank Belluscio, president of the New Jersey School Boards Association. "The complaint asks for full funding of the school-funding law, and that would apply to a wide range of districts. But if the court rules the proposed funding is unconstitutional, we could go back to the old system that just gave the Abbotts special status."
Judge Peter Doyne ruled March 22 that the amount of state aid provided for 2010-11 did not meet the 2008 School Reform Funding Act requirements, falling about $1.6 billion short. The state Supreme Court will now decide how to proceed and how much influence to give the state's arguments that there just isn't more money to give and that more money is no guarantee of a better education. Briefs from both sides are due to the court April 7.
Local school officials are well aware that their budgets are what is called "below adequacy." But they still have to come up with budgets that serve the students and tax levies that do not exceed a new state-imposed 2 percent cap and can get voter approval.
"It's so hard to try to make up that deficit," said Martha Jamison, business administrator for the Hamilton Township School District, which is getting about $6.7 million less in state aid than it should, data compiled by the Education Law Center show. "We just started to make it up a few years ago when the new formula came in."
The law center used state data to calculate how many school districts were funded "below adequacy" this year and how much they would need to be fully funded. It came up with 205 districts that should get an extra $1.1 billion this year. Those districts are budgeted to get about $110 million more next year, or about 10 percent of what the state formula would require. Adequacy budget amounts calculated by the state Department of Education were about 7 percent less than the law center's projections, which included all costs.
Among the most affected are growth districts such as Egg Harbor Township and Greater Egg Harbor Regional, which never got the extra state aid their enrollment would support. The law center's data shows EHT is short about $10.2 million and GEHR should get an additional $3.5 million.
"There is no way we could even begin to make up that difference ourselves because of the tax-levy cap," GEHR Business Administrator Charles Muller said. "But if we did get the money, we could restore some positions we cut without affecting property taxes."
Many of the most affected districts were part of another case against the state filed in 1997 on behalf of 17 poor, rural districts, most in southern New Jersey. That case made the point that poor children did not just live in urban areas. About half of the state's poor children do not live in an Abbott district. The new state-funding formula was designed to assure that students were adequately funded no matter where they live.
"We have a lot of catching up to do," said John Saporito, who as the shared school superintendent in Commercial, Maurice River and Lawrence townships in Cumberland County is proof that districts are looking for ways to save money. His three districts, which were part of the Bacon lawsuit, are short about $4.4 million to meet what the formula would consider adequate funding.
"We're under pressure to not raise taxes, and we're not," he said. "But we've been making significant cuts to staff, from teachers to aides and custodians."
Sciarra said if legislators and the governor don't like the formula, they can propose a new one. But until they do, there is a law, and it should be applied fairly to all districts.
Millville attorney Fred Jacob, who has represented the Bacon districts, said what has been most frustrating is that the state stalled for so many years, and the districts are now still underfunded.
"The new formula, if implemented, would serve the Bacon districts well," he said.
Belluscio said the funding situation over the last several years has hurt middle-income districts the most because wealthy districts can afford to fund their schools and Abbott districts got extra state aid.
Officials in local districts said they have been operating more efficiently, but not necessarily better, and the long-term impact of funding shortages could hurt students.
"There are many things we are not doing," Little Egg Harbor Township Superintendent Frank Kasyan said. "We had a technology initiative, but now the computers are becoming obsolete and we can't replace them."
He said the 2 percent tax-levy cap prevents the district from raising more of its own money, something a parent complained about at the budget hearing.
"He said if we are under-funded, then his children are not getting the same education as children in other districts," Kasyan said. "Some would be willing to pay a little more."
Lynne Strickland, director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, said a concern among the almost 400 remaining school districts is that they might be considered to be spending too much.
"If adequacy becomes the new benchmark, then the next question is why are almost 400 districts spending more?" she said. "This decision could be playing out in ways that haven't been foreseen."
Local school officials would love to have to worry about spending too much. They said if they were to get more state aid it would go into the classroom for more books, supplies and teachers, all of which were cut back this year.
Northfield Superintendent Janice Fipp said she feels comfortable that the district's children are well-served this year because staff stepped up to fill the gaps. But, she said, students today need more services than they did 20 or 30 years ago, and those services can make the difference to a struggling student. The district is under-funded by about $1.3 million, the law center data show.
"We can spend less," Fipp said. "I'm not sure we can continue to get the same results."
Hamilton Township's Jamison agreed that spending less does eventually have an impact.
"Something is wrong when we're spending $10,000 per student and another district is spending $20,000," she said. "Money isn't the whole solution, but it helps you get to the solution."
Strickland said 14 of her members are on the under-funded list, so they are watching the court case carefully to see if the decision will apply statewide or be limited to the 31 Abbott districts.
"It just isn't clear to us," she said. "I know David (Sciarra) is trying to open it up to be more inclusive. But ultimately it's up to the court."
Contact Diane D'Amico:
609-272-7241
