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GSCS also notes that school property taxes will remain a problem in the majority of districts in the state because the 3% increase that applies to most districts does not offset cost driver increases in schools across the state. New York Times - 'In New Jersey, Districts Find Aid Increases Insufficient' “...This is not the massive relief that the governor was hinting at a few weeks ago,” said Elisabeth Ginsburg, the school board president in Glen Ridge. “It’s better than nothing, but it’s not significant tax relief...”
Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, which represents more than 150 school districts, said that education officials had taken the first steps toward “course-correcting” what she called the practice of underfinancing school districts. “We hope that this kind of state support will become a trend, with meaningful aid increases going to more districts in the near future,..."
Star Ledger - 'Middle income districts get boost School aid is flat for poorest towns'
' 'Frozen' towns see a thaw in N.J. school aid State budget aims at non-Abbotts with large numbers of poor pupils' Star Ledger
Trenton Times - 'Districts glad for increase in aid Schools to get at least 3% under Corzine's budget' Philadelphia Inquirer 'N.J. School Chief told - Cut Waste' Lucille Davy, questioned by state senators, vowed scrutiny after audits in Camden and other cities.
Star Ledger 'Retired teachers told: Medical bills on state'
February 27, 2007
In New Jersey
By WINNIE HU
Nearly half of the increased state aid that Gov. Jon S. Corzine promised for schools in his budget proposal last week will be eaten up by teachers’ benefits and school construction, and much of the remaining $300 million is earmarked for literacy and early childhood programs, education officials in
“It cannot be used to buy a new snowplow or a new sanding machine,” said Lucille E. Davy, the state’s education commissioner, who added that districts would have to use that money for those specific programs.
With much fanfare, Mr. Corzine unveiled a $33.3 billion spending plan that included $579.1 million more in local school aid — the largest increase in more than five years — that includes millions of dollars for new programs.
But yesterday, when looking at an actual breakdown of the money distribution, some districts learned that they would receive less than they had hoped.
For instance, the Glen Ridge school district in Essex County will have a modest 3 percent increase in state aid, or about $29,000 — barely enough to make a difference in its current $23 million budget. School officials in the district, which has 1,830 students, said they were disappointed that they would not receive additional money for their full-day kindergarten program, a benefit that will be extended to some lower-income school districts.
“This is not the massive relief that the governor was hinting at a few weeks ago,” said Elisabeth Ginsburg, the school board president in
Many parents and school officials said they had also hoped to benefit from state lawmakers’ efforts in recent months to overhaul the school financing system, which has been accused of spending millions of dollars in the 31 poorest districts in the state, known as Abbott districts, while shortchanging others. Legislators are working on a new formula for dispensing state aid, but it is unlikely that it will affect this year’s education budget.
Still, Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, which represents more than 150 school districts, said that education officials had taken the first steps toward “course-correcting” what she called the practice of underfinancing school districts.
“We hope that this kind of state support will become a trend, with meaningful aid increases going to more districts in the near future,” Ms. Strickland said.
Education officials have allocated $194 million in additional aid for non-Abbott districts, the largest single increase since the 2000 fiscal year. The average increases range from 3 percent for more affluent districts to 10.3 percent for those not as well off.
For the first time, the state aid includes $36 million for preschool and kindergarten programs, and $56 million for 217 districts where at least 15 percent of the students qualify for free and reduced lunches. Those districts will receive from $250 to $500 in additional aid for each poor student. The money would have to be used mainly for literacy and preschool and kindergarten programs intended to address the achievement gap for poor students.
In the Cliffside Park school district, in Bergen County, where just under half of the 2,600 students qualify for free and reduced lunches, the additional state aid for those students will amount to $600,000 more a year.
Michael Romagnino, the acting superintendent in
“There’s a lot of places that money could be used,” Mr. Romagnino said.
Middle income districts get boost
School aid is flat for poorest towns
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
BY KATIE WANG
Star-Ledger Staff
The Corzine administration re leased its school aid packages yesterday, showering many middle- class districts with at least a 10 percent increase in funding, marking the largest hike they have seen in years.
At the same time, the governor held the line on funding for the Ab bott schools -- the state's 31 poorest districts, which for years have watched their state aid increase while most other districts have re mained nearly stagnant.
"I think this is very positive news for many, many districts that have not received increases in state aid for the last several years," said state Education Commissioner Lu cille Davy. "It is a recognition on the governor's part that there is an impact on these districts not receiving the aid."
Lynne Strickland, executive di rector of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, an organization that has been vocally critical of the state's funding formula, noted about this year's packages.
"Aid has been held in check for so long that the overwhelming majority of regular operating school districts have all suffered without this support to varying degrees," said Strickland, whose group represents 110 of the state's wealthier communities. "We hope that this kind of state support will become a trend."
Superintendent James O'Neill, who heads up the School District of the
"The state has a long way to go for us to reach what I would call a fair allotment in a new state aid formula," he said. "This gives me no chance to have any significant impact on the taxes that senior citizens pay."
However, Parsippany Superintendent Lee Seitz said in a $113 million budget, the new aid does not offer any tax relief. Seitz cal culated that the $196,741 increase in aid comes to .0017 percent of the district's $113 million budget.
"It clearly demonstrates the severity of the property tax problem and how much more the state must do if they are ever going to provide meaningful property tax relief," Seitz said.
West Orange Mayor John F. McKeon welcomed his district's 14 percent increase, but said the money is nothing compared to the millions the district is re quired to spend for other state- mandated programs. The district is slated to receive $8.3 million in state aid -- an increase of roughly $1 million from last year.
"It's woefully inadequate in light of our challenges and similar districts on the urban rim," said McKeon. "If the government and state want to bring equity to the system we need to retool the school aid formula."
Bloomfield Superintendent Frank Digesere agreed. If districts are required to fulfill state mandates, he said, then the state should offer more help to middle- class districts like his. The state is proposing to give
"It's the districts that aren't Abbotts and aren't affluent that struggle," said Digesere. "We're being choked to death because we can't afford to pay the taxes that the Livingstons and the Millburns are paying. We're dying here."
In
"We have already cut $1.7 million, and we are still $2 million over cap," he said of a school budget that is still a work-in-progress. "So a 6 percent increase in state aid will help tremendously."
In
"That 6 percent increase is very nice," he said. "This budget is difficult, and if you can give me a couple of extra bucks for anything, I'll be more than willing to take it."
The state raced to revamp its funding formula in time for this year's budget, but abandoned those efforts because it ran out of time. Corzine last week unveiled his spending plan for the 2008 fis cal year that begins July 1.
Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said Corzine's shift in spending is a significant policy change, but it will take much more money to help middle-class schools.
"The governor is recognizing that poor kids live in other places other than Abbott districts," he said. "If we're going to close the achievement gap, there's going to have to be more resources be cause the achievement gap is an economic gap."
But the aid packages were a blow for Abbott districts, such as
"It's a struggle, no doubt," said Business Administrator Bill Poch. "We were hoping we would get a 3 percent increase, not a de crease."
Poch said
Corzine has said that Abbott districts must make a convincing case before they receive additional funding this year.
The district, which in the last two years has had to cut out se curity officers at its elementary school, was hoping to reinstate them.
In some cases, such as in
"We're pleased because we heard some of the districts are getting 3 percent," said Woodbridge Superintendent Vincent Smith. "We're excited. It's a good thing for the taxpayers."
But even districts that were just getting 3 percent increases were pleased.
Sandyston-Walpack received a 3 percent increase in state aid on top of money for its full-day kindergarten program.
"That part was a nice little surprise for us today," said Superintendent Glen Sumpman. "It's better than what we thought we were going to get."
Staff writers Kasi Addison, Al Frank, Mike Frassinelli, Gabriel H. Gluck, Chandra Hayslett, Jim Lockwood, John Mooney, Phil Read and Paula Saha contributed to this report.
'Frozen' towns see a thaw in N.J. school aid
State budget aims at non-Abbotts with large numbers of poor pupils
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
BY JOHN MOONEY AND DUNSTAN McNICHOL
Star-Ledger Staff
For five years, as the state poured billions of dollars in additional aid into the state's poorest urban school districts, middle-class towns with large numbers of poor students strained to keep standards high and tax increases reasonable.
Apparently Gov. Jon Corzine felt their pain.
Details of Corzine's state budget proposal released yesterday show the first significant, across-the-board increases for schools since 2000, with double-digit increases in some middle-class towns.
The biggest winners were places like Red Bank, Cliffside Park and
In 50 such towns, school aid will rise at least 10 percent, after a virtual freeze that lasted more than half a decade. The budget proposal now moves to the Legislature for review.
"I thought I read it wrong," Red Bank Superintendent Laura Morana said. "I saw 18.6 percent (increase) and thought it must be an error."
In other towns where state officials were reporting large increases, local officials reacted with cautious optimism, delaying major celebrations until detailed budget documents arrive today from the Department of Education.
"Until they give us our budget breakdowns, we don't know how we feel," said Patricia Morris, spokeswoman for
In his budget address Thursday, Corzine said he would provide a minimum of 3 percent more in state aid to every district.
A majority of districts received that amount, according to the numbers released yesterday, and education officials said the state's poorest cities were going to have to provide detailed justification in order to qualify for the 3 percent jump.
A series of state Supreme Court decisions in cases brought on behalf of poor children forced the state to pump billions of dollars in additional aid into 31 poor, urban districts in recent years. Corzine agrees that high level of funding must be maintained -- both morally and legally -- but he believes it is essential to lift up other districts in need of help.
In 16 of the poorest 31 -- known as Abbott districts for the name of a plaintiff in the case -- residents will be asked to contribute a total of $17 million more in local taxes to make up for small cuts in aid.
Corzine's budget had the most to offer communities one rung up the socio-economic ladder from the Abbotts -- a group that also happens to be largely Democratic, the same party as the governor. To help these towns, the proposed budget would establish a $66 million pot for schools with high concentrations of low-income students.
In Red Bank, the superintendent said the additional aid could provide a needed cushion in a budget now straining to offer music programs and world language instruction.
Cliffside Park, where a 17.9 percent increase in aid would translate into $678,000, would be able to keep existing full-day kindergarten and pre-school programs and perhaps expand others, said its superintendent.
"We have some issues with passing the (state tests) and have started after-school programs for that," said Michael J. Romagnino, the acting superintendent. "This will allow us to keep them going and even enhance them."
State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said the aid was aimed specifically at districts facing the biggest challenges. She pointed out that non-Abbott districts in the state's poorest communities will see a total increase of 10 percent, while those in the richest towns will be limited to about 3.3 percent, just over the minimum.
Before the 31 Abbott districts see their share of additional state aid, they will have to address any concerns raised in a series of court-ordered audits, Davy told a hearing of the Senate Education Committee yesterday.
Corzine's budget includes $125 million in increased state aid for the Abbott communities, but Davy said that amount is a "placeholder." The real aid each district receives will be determined after a review of their budget requests and will include adjustments for any misspending identified in ongoing audits.
"If they need to get an increase, they get an increase," she said. "This is going to be a district-by-district review."
Audits of the four largest special-needs districts --
Davy said the proposed additional state aid could be docked in districts where improper spending is verified.
"The goal here is to bring about the change that is necessary so people don't buy $1,000 worth of poinsettias for a board meeting, or someone doesn't buy a jukebox for a lunchroom," she said after the hearing, citing two examples included in the audits.
"Our goal is not to play 'Gotcha,'" she said. "It is to bring about the change that is necessary."
David Sciarra, the attorney who has pressed the case for additional state funding on behalf of students in the Abbott districts, said local officials weren't given adequate time to respond to allegations of misspending in the first round of audits. He said those allegations should not be the basis for funding decisions.
"There's no basis to penalize the educational program children need going forward," he said.
John Mooney may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com.
Districts glad for increase in aid
Schools to get at least 3% under Corzine's budget
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
BY DARRYL R. ISHERWOOD
After enduring five years of stagnant contributions, middle- and low-income school districts will see a jump in funding this year under the state's new guidelines, which raised school aid by more than $300 million statewide.
Under the new state budget, most districts will receive at least 3 percent additional funding, while low- and middle-income districts will receive the highest boost in aid. Statewide, the aid jumped from 3 percent to a high of 17 percent.
In
"I'm thrilled the state has recognized that we can't keep going to the taxpayers for funding," said Dennis Nettleton, school business administrator. "They need a break and hopefully this is the year they'll get it."
STATE AID
BY DISTRICTSPAGE A10Nettleton said he'll recommend that the money be used to offset taxes this year, which are expected to rise by 4 or 5 cents per $100 in assessed home value with the new budget, expected to be introduced this week.
Frozen state aid resulted in hundreds of layoffs and multiple program cuts in
The majority of those districts received a bump of 3 percent, an amount that had administrators in those townships wishing for more.
"This is an unfair burden to us," said Washington Township Superintendent John Szabo, who said he has reached out to state legislators to let them know. "We are concerned the district is not getting its fair share of state aid."
John Nemeth, business administrator for the
For five years, districts have been clamoring for more aid as enrollment and costs have risen dramatically, but aid remained flat.
This year, Gov. Jon Corzine vowed to increase aid even as property taxes throughout the state continue to rise. In his budget address last week, Corzine said he would provide a minimum of 3 percent across-the-board increases to every district, the first significant statewide increase in those five years.
In the
Although the 3 percent increase in Princeton Regional's state aid adds $110,318 in revenue for the district and boosts the state's financial support to $3.79 million,
"We are certainly trying hard to avoid personnel cuts, but at the same time personnel dollars are where the bulk of the costs are," she said.
In
School officials could not be reached for comment on the increase, but several board members blamed last year's increase on the lack of an increase in state aid.
Corzine's spending plan will now move on to the Legislature for review.
Contact Darryl Isherwood at Disherwood@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5708.
N.J. school chief told: Cut waste
Lucille Davy, questioned by state senators, vowed scrutiny after audits in
By Melanie Burney
Inquirer Staff Writer
Acknowledging that the state has fallen short "in eradicating" inappropriate spending in troubled school districts, including Camden, state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy yesterday pledged more oversight to curb wasteful spending.
Davy was summoned to testify before the Senate Education Committee to answer questions about recent audits of the
The audits found unchecked spending and lax internal controls that resulted in millions in "questionable expenses," including $13 million in
In Camden, the items included payouts of $380,830 to 10 dead employees; $5,000 to lease a car for former Superintendent Annette D. Knox; $5,800 for a luncheon for 200 in the Tweeter Center ordered by Knox; and $9,343 to pay for lawyers to defend her in a separate state investigation.
"We would like to know today, how did it get this bad?" asked Sen. Shirley K. Turner (D., Mercer), the committee chair. "Our taxpayers and our children deserve an answer."
Davy said that previous state audits repeatedly uncovered similar findings and that the districts were ordered to submit corrective action plans. But fiscal practices were never changed, and no one was held accountable.
"Where we're probably lacking is the follow-up," Davy conceded. "These corrective-actions plans have to be more than a piece of paper."
State auditor Richard Fair told the committee that the latest audits, released last month, are nothing new. He said school district audits conducted by his department every two to three years reported similar findings to state officials.
"The state needs to play a more proactive role in monitoring how the money is spent," Fair said. "People have to be held accountable and suffer the consequences of doing things the wrong way."
Turner asked Fair if the state could require superintendents in the district under its oversight to "shape up or ship out." Fair agreed the state had the authority.
"We need to see more shipping out," Turner said.
The state has widespread control over the
Davy said a newly formed Fiscal Accountability Office in her department had been charged with following up on the audits in
State monitors with sweeping authority to halt spending have been appointed in
"We are working hard and are making lots of change already," Davy said. The department is moving "toward a much higher level of accountability and scrutiny" and is considering new guidelines for district spending on items such as board travel, food and flowers, she said.
The audit by the accounting firm KPMG, which covers the period from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2006, found that education funds in
Auditors also cited 63 internal control deficiencies in
Employees were not properly supervised or held accountable for their work, the audit found, and overtime was not tracked or monitored by payroll during the school year.
District officials have said they are preparing a corrective action that must be submitted to the Department of Education next month.
In addition to the four districts, audits are also planned for the 27 remaining Abbott, or special-needs, districts, which include
Davy said the audits would cost about $10.1 million.
On a day when preliminary state aid figures for school districts were released for the 2007-08 school year, committee members focused solely on spending during the two-hour hearing yesterday.
They wanted to know if the state could recoup any mismanaged funds and whether criminal charges could be filed.
"If there is fraud, it can be pursued," Davy said.
Davy was not asked about academic programs in the four audited districts.
The commissioner said Corzine, who has promised to move the state toward fiscal responsibility, had told her that she would be held accountable for monitoring how state school aid is spent.
Turner asked Davy to report back to the committee before the end of the year. She said yesterday's hearing was a "good start."
"We're going to be monitoring and holding the department accountable. They've been asleep at the switch," she said.
Contact staff writer Melanie Burney at 856-779-3876 or mburney@phillynews.com.
Retired teachers told: Medical bills on state
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL
Star-Ledger Staff
Gov. Jon Corzine, who highlighted the staggering tab for the medical benefits promised to retired public employees in his budget speech last week, has pledged that retired teachers won't have to help pay their $53.6 billion share of the bill.
The promise was worked by Corzine in a side deal with the state teachers' union this month while he hammered out a separate four-year collective bargaining agreement with state workers.
Corzine said he would endorse pending legislation to "ensure there will be no premium sharing for retirees now or in the future," the New Jersey Education Association said in a message to members last week.
"We are very pleased to have that change," said Lynn Maher, spokeswoman for the NJEA. "Definitely, it's a material change."
Besides the pledge of no future premium sharing, Corzine said the NJEA could set up a new publicly funded health insurance program for teachers, independent of the health benefits program for state workers and local government employees.
Unlike the existing benefits program, which is governed by a panel dominated by state officials, the new program will be overseen by a panel divided evenly between NJEA appointees and administration designees.
Corzine said the promises he made do not expand the benefits teachers get now.
"I don't think I gave anything away," he said during a meeting with The Star-Ledger editorial board Friday.
TRIMS FOR TAXPAYERS
In designing a new medical insurance program for teachers, the NJEA would include features that will cut taxpayer costs by $25 million to $40 million in the first year, said Tom Vincz, spokesman for the Treasury Department.
Teachers also have agreed to boost their payments into the state pension fund, to raise the minimum retirement age to 60 for new hires, and to participate in a full review of the costs of the retirement and benefit program in five years, Vincz said.
"They've stepped up to the plate and have accepted these conditions," Vincz said. "The unions understand that we have to make some changes to the benefits plan to benefit both the taxpayers and the union."
The deal Corzine struck with public employee unions during contract negotiations that ended last week, if ratified, will require state workers to pay 1.5 percent of their salaries and pension payments toward their post-retirement insurance, effective July 1.
"At the core, we think it's unusually unfair for a low-paid clerical worker to have to pay for health insurance in retirement while other public employees are given that option for free," said Carla Katz, president of Local 1034 of the Communications Workers of America, who is opposing the proposed state worker contract. "We believe their unions negotiated something we should negotiate with the governor."
AS BEFORE
Corzine said the proposed guarantee of free retirement coverage for teachers simply continues the existing system, and would apply only to teachers already on the payroll or retired. For future hires, he said, local school boards can negotiate post-retirement insurance payments in contract talks.
The post-retirement medical benefits promised to 325,000 working and retired teachers are scheduled to cost the state $53.6 billion, a recent accounting report showed. That's about two-thirds of the $78 billion bill that taxpayers face for the retirement health benefits for all public employees.
Maher said NJEA negotiators got the protection against premium sharing as part of a trade-off in which they agreed to let the state close the rich "traditional" insurance plan. The cost of that program soared by 50 percent last year, largely because just one company offers the coverage.
Under the deal the NJEA and Corzine worked out, the traditional plan will be replaced by a more typical "preferred provider" system, which should attract competitive bids and lower prices, Maher said.
Dunstan McNichol may be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609) 989-0341.
