Quick Fact: The Task Force heard today from GSCS, the NJEA, NJ School Boards Association and the Education Law Center. While there are differing perspectives within these education groups, there was unanimity regarding (1) a special legislative session being the most efficient and effective way to deal with tax reform, and (2) keeping education (T & E) funding off the table if a convention is pursued.

__________________________________________________________________

GSCS Testimony before the Property Tax Convention Task Force           

October 29, 2004

Good morning Chairman Van Horn, members of the Task Force. I am Lynne Strickland, Executive Director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. Thank you very much for the invitation to provide input to you today.

The Garden State Coalition/GSCS is a statewide, grassroots organization of more than 120 school districts, primarily suburban and staffed by one. GSCS now has a near-thirteen year track record of advocacy for public school students in Trenton. Consisting of parents, board of education members and schools administrators, GSCS volunteer advocates come from communities across New Jersey and are motivated by a common denominator: quality education. Together, GSCS represents approximately 350,000 children through its 120 member districts.

GSCS would prefer that the legislature, not a Constitutional Convention, tackle the difficult issue of property tax reform. Here’s why:

Ability and Staffing

Contrary to stated opinion, the legislature can orchestrate a special session to produce successful property tax reform. After all, the legislature did enact a new school funding law in 1996 and pass the revolutionary school construction law in 2000. And, the legislature has been willing to confront needle exchange and stem cell research, even pay-to-play.  Most significantly, the current legislature has mustered the political will to enact the “1/2 millionaire’s income tax” in June, no longer holding its breath and crossing its fingers when the words “income and tax” were strung together for a vote or discussion. In addition, the legislature itself is salaried, and is staffed by experts. Duplication of an already existing framework is expensive.

Time Frame

The legislature can tackle reform much sooner than later. The proposed Constitutional Convention has a realistic time frame of three years or so before real reform could be implemented. There is talk of speeding up the time frame by putting out a multipurpose vote to the public in November: one where the question is asked as to whether the public is in favor of a Convention, and the other would ask the public to actually vote on delegates at the very same time. Genuine concern over how to streamline the time frame has probably resulted in this ‘bad process idea’ where special interest influence would be enabled. Likely delegates would wind up being those whom special interests, backed by ready cash, already are percolating in their pipeline.

Focus, Data and Scope

If the Task Force were to recommend holding a convention, GSCS believes that any Convention should keeps its discussion revenue-neutral and should keep education off the table altogether. School funding is extremely complicated and a Convention is not the appropriate vehicle to address that issue. GSCS asks the Task Force a basic question: since policy makers call the shots on how state revenues are spent, to what end would a Convention serve the public good by expanding its scope outside its task to introduce tax reform?

A review of some of the data we have supplied for you today is revealing in its complexity. Experience and expertise are required just to get a sense of how decisions can impact schools and children. The importance of informed decision making cannot be underscored enough. Data – and in-depth understanding of data implications - is critical to process before realistic, productive conclusions can be drawn. It is in the best interest of both children and communities for a Convention not to be lured into tackling school spending at the same time as how to raise revenue more fairly for New Jersey’s citizens.

FYI - Schools are Not the Culprit

Schools continue to ask Trenton to help them by providing them with ‘tools’ that can help contain costs over which they have little or no control. It is one thing to say that combining school districts will save taxpayer dollars, yet have laws in place that result in some communities paying much higher taxes should districts regionalize. Health benefits, utilities, insurances are some of the cost drivers in school budgets that far outpace the rate of inflation.

In the end, the legislature has the responsibility for fiscal policy that will impact local taxpayers as much as tax reform. For instance, today more than 250 school districts do not even receive one dollar of basic state aid for regular education. Ten years ago the list numbered 140. That list is decided by state policy. Most districts in the state receive proportionately less state aid today than ten years ago. For example,

                                                       98-99                    01-02                     02-03

Court-Protected Districts                50%                    54%                      55%

All Other Districts                           50%                    46%                      45%

(Data = Audsum/DFG districts/excludes County Schools)

The fact that nearly half the regular operating school districts in New Jersey do not receive state support for regular education – that state aid is on a downward decline for the overwhelming majority of school districts – clearly shows a shift from state support to the local taxpayer. The list of what districts receive basic state aid – and relatively how much of that aid - can continue to grow in the face of tax reform, or not, depending on state policy. By the nature of its body, the legislature is the branch of government that is situated to fix this imbalance of over-reliance on property taxes as well as the imbalance in the state of how our schools are funded. It is time to shift from the contention of the issue, accept the reality and applaud New Jersey’s overall success in providing education adequacy for its children and to structure fiscal stability and balance for all districts so that quality education is not diminished.

        To reiterate, we respectfully ask the Task Force to give equal and earnest consideration to the part of your charge, as stated by Chairman Van Horn at the Mercer County public hearing, that “This task force was created pursuant to a state law that established this group to study the need for a property tax convention ….”