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As billed on the Ledger website 8-11-06: “Local school districts shortchanged $1.1 billion in 5 yrs by state” ….Education funds tied to rising property tax.
Gannet: The non-Abbott districts have missed out on an estimated $1.1 billion in aid increases as the state ignored its own funding formula for those schools, said Ted Settle, OLS principal research analyst.”
Star Ledger re: NJEA “clout” “…The results are a string of impressive political wins. The Legislature bumped pension payments beyond those the union won at the bargaining table. They banned many school boards from even negotiating for concessions on health care payments. They stripped districts of the right to impose contract terms in the event of stalemate, a big boost for unions during contract talks. "They've gained so much," says Lynne Strickland, director of the Garden State Coalition for Schools, an advocacy group. "The pendulum has swung so far in their direction that it can only swing back now."
Gannett: “TRENTON — Teachers and local government employees could face increased costs for doctors' visits and prescription drugs under a plan pitched by the Corzine administration....The proposal would increase local government workers' copays and mandate the use of generic drugs for some conditions in order to save state and local governments $74 million.”
As billed on the web 8-11-06:
“Local school districts shortchanged $1.1 billion in 5 yrs by state”
School aid formula ignored, panel told
Education funds tied to rising property tax
Friday, August 11, 2006
BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL
Star-Ledger Staff
New Jersey has shortchanged local school districts by at least $1.1 billion over the past five years by ignoring the provisions of the last school aid formula the Legislature set up, an expert told lawmak ers yesterday as they set out to re vamp the way the state hands out $7.3 billion in public school funding each year.
"We need to understand that the funding formula that's been in existence is not really in existence because it hasn't been funded," said Sen. Joseph V. Doria (D-Hud son), one of six lawmakers on the special legislative committee. "We need to put together a formula that will continue to exist."
The inaugural two-hour meet ing of the committee -- one of four panels studying ways to reduce property taxes -- was held in a meeting room packed with lobby ists for teachers, principals and school boards. They heard a seminar on three previous failed at tempts to set up a school aid for mula.
Since 1975, lawmakers have set up three formulas, and each was declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court, which ordered additional funds for the state's poorest districts. Meanwhile, aid was dispensed to other districts without following the for mula.
The court's orders and statewide school spending have driven the overall cost of state aid from about $2 billion in 1980 to $7.35 billion in the current state budget. Education funding accounts for 34 percent of this year's state budget, the highest share in history, said Ted Settle, an Office of Legislative Services aide who presented the school aid information to the committee.
Meanwhile, on the local level, education spending has consumed a growing share of property tax revenues since 1988, Settle reported.
Since 1988, when school taxes made up just under 50 percent of the typical property tax bill, that share has steadily risen to the cur rent level of 55.1 percent.
And the reliance on local taxes is steepest in the state's communities with the highest taxes. In the 25 percent of communities with the highest property tax bills in the state, Settle said, school taxes make up about two-thirds of the tab.
Lawmakers agreed in their opening statements that the cur rent school funding system is bro ken, but there was far less consen sus on how to resolve the problem.
Doria, a Democrat, and Assemblyman David Wolfe, a Republican from
Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Ber gen) and Doria both cited administrative costs as an area ripe for po tential savings and said they would push for more regional consolidation.
Cardinale proposed limiting compensation for school superintendents and other administrators, saying it is improper to pay school officials more than the governor makes.
And each of the six lawmakers on the special committee said their new school formula must meet the needs of all students and taxpayers, a standard that they acknowledged the Legislature's three earlier tries have failed to meet.
"Our mission is to reduce this state's reliance on property taxes to fund schools while continuing to provide a first-rate education," said Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D- Burlington), a co-chairman of the committee. "Through shared perseverance, commitment and cooperation, I am certain that this committee can plow forward and pave a new path for equitable funding for our public schools."
Dunstan McNichol covers state government issues. He may be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com
or (609) 989-0341.
In tax fight, the teachers are a study in clout
Friday, August 11, 2006
SETTING UP
A FORMULA FOR
SCHOOL AID PAGE 23
Joyce Powell sat near the front row and wore a bright pink jacket, a splash of color in a sea of gray and blue suits.
But the politicians in the room would have spotted her anyway. Because Powell, an unfamiliar face to most voters, leads the most powerful special interest group in New Jersey, hands down.
She's president of the teachers union.
And yesterday was a good day for her. Legislators who were supposedly searching for ways to cut property taxes spent two hours discussing school funding without making a peep that offended her.
"I didn't hear much of anything about reducing school costs, which surprised me in a good way," Powell said. "People realize that quality education comes at a cost."
We can debate the quality of
Teacher salaries here are among the highest in the nation, and they're rising at about twice the rate of inflation. They have summers off, they can retire at age 55, and they don't have to pay a dime toward retiree health benefits.
Add up those costs, and teachers are the single largest driver of high property taxes in
So taxpayers and teachers are in opposite corners in this fight over property taxes. They can't both win.
And here's a tip for the gamblers out there: Put your money on the teachers.
The NJEA has nearly 200,000 members, dwarfing all the other public worker unions. At its political headquarters on
It is consistently among the top political donors. And on Election Day last year 1,400 volunteers worked phone banks and mobilized voters.
"We do a lot of focus groups and polling, so we know what the pub lic thinks, in each legislative district," Powell says.
The results are a string of impressive political wins. The Legislature bumped pension payments beyond those the union won at the bargaining table. They banned many school boards from even negotiating for concessions on health care payments. They stripped districts of the right to impose contract terms in the event of stalemate, a big boost for unions during contract talks.
"They've gained so much," says Lynne Strickland, director of the Garden State Coalition for Schools, an advocacy group. "The pendulum has swung so far in their direction that it can only swing back now."
Maybe. But yesterday, the legislators on the panel didn't even mention how central teacher salaries and benefits are to this discussion.
"People remember the NJEA and John Lynch, and some really fear that," said Sen. John Adler, the panel's chairman.
He was referring to one of the NJEA's most bloodthirsty mo ments. In 1991, then Senate President John Lynch proposed a cap on teacher salaries, and the NJEA financed a campaign against him that came within 1,800 votes of sending Lynch into retirement.
It was a shock, not just as a demonstration of the NJEA's raw power, but for the slimy tactics the union used in trying to link Lynch to organized crime.
"Some legislators are so afraid of the NJEA they quake," says Sen. Gerald Cardinale, a Republican from
Powell notes that the average teacher makes just under $60,000, a modest sum for someone with a master's degree and years of experience. She says she worries that the drive to cut property taxes could wreck the public schools, as in
Her solution to the property tax problem is a big boost in state aid to schools. But that's not going to happen, given the expected budget shortfalls next year.
So it will come down to a tug-of- war, with the muscular teachers union pulling on one end, and the abused taxpayer on the other.
And if history is any guide, Powell will win.
Tom Moran's column appears Wednesdays and Fridays. He can be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or (973) 392-1823.
WHO: Teachers and local government workers
WHAT: Increases in copays and drug costs
State mulls higher health costs for some
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 08/11/06
BY JONATHAN TAMARI
The proposal would increase local government workers' copays and mandate the use of generic drugs for some conditions in order to save state and local governments $74 million.
The proposal comes as lawmakers seek to reduce the cost of employee benefits, which have been linked to growing property taxes.
"There's an obvious cost savings, and, frankly, that's actually a cost saving not just for the employer but for the employee as well," said Mark Perkiss, Department of the Treasury spokesman.
He said mandating mail-order drug purchases will save money for workers because they cost slightly more for a much larger supply of medicine.
Lynn Maher, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, objected to the changes, saying they should be negotiated as part of collective bargaining.
"Instead of trying to level everyone down, the state should be thinking about how to extend health care to its residents," Maher said.
Perkiss said the changes can be approved by the State Health Benefits Commission, which is scheduled to vote on the plan next week.
Retirees could be affected immediately, but mayors would have to negotiate the changes for active workers into their next labor contract, said William Dressel Jr., executive director of New Jersey State League of Municipalities.
"We support the ability for mayors and governing bodies to be able to negotiate higher copays and the use of generic drugs," Dressel said. "We think this will go a long way to helping municipalities, as employers, manage their costs."
The changes would bump the copay for a doctor visit from $5 up to $10 for teachers and local workers. Prescription copays would increase from $1 to $3 for generic drugs purchased in stores and to $5 for generics ordered through the mail. Copays for brand-name medicine would rise from $5 to $10 in the store and $15 through the mail.
The costs would bring local employees' copays in line with what state workers pay, Perkiss said.
In addition, workers would be required to use mail-order, generic drugs for "maintenance" prescriptions used to treat ongoing health problems.
Store prescriptions supply 30 days of medicine, while mail order provides 90.
If approved, the copay changes could take effect Jan. 1. The new restrictions on brand-name drug use would begin Oct. 1.
Gov. Corzine has previously called for increased generic drug use as a way to save money. In December, a state benefits task force appointed by then-Gov. Richard J. Codey called for bringing local worker copays in line with what state employees pay.
Lawmakers vow fairness for school funding
Aim is to formulate new aid structure for state's districts
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 08/11/06
BY JONATHAN TAMARI
TRENTON — Lawmakers seeking to control property taxes vowed to bring a sense of statewide fairness back to school funding Thursday as they delved into one of New Jersey's most divisive issues.
Lawmakers said their goal is to come up with a new system that eliminates the divide between the 31 "Abbott" school districts, which receive the majority of state education aid, and the rest of
With local school levies accounting for 55 percent of property tax bills, the issue goes to the heart of the state's property tax woes.
Sen. John Adler, D-Camden, the co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Public School Funding Reform, said his goal is "to have one funding formula that applies fairly throughout the entire state, eliminates this awkward Abbott, non-Abbott distinction and that provides sustainable predictability to property taxpayers."
Abbott schools — the poor school districts that advocates say were neglected until they won additional support through a state Supreme Court decision in the Abbott v. Burke litigation — receive nearly 58 percent of state education aid.
The support helps offset local property taxes. But during recent budget crunches, funding for other districts has slipped.
While all six lawmakers on the panel pledged to work together for a fairer formula, some of their opening statements reflected the ongoing divide.
"While I recognize that the current system of education funding in this state is out of whack, I have no interest in turning back the clock to a time when minority communities were deprived of education opportunities," said Assemblyman Brian Stack, D-Hudson, whose legislative district includes four Abbott districts.
But Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Bergen, who represents a largely suburban area, said the money poured into Abbott schools has not produced results.
"Most of the Abbotts have not shaped up, and the kids have no better educational opportunities . . .," Cardinale said.
Abbott aid has grown by an average of 6 percent a year since 2002, while other schools have seen a 1 percent annual increase in that time, according to the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services.
The non-Abbott districts have missed out on an estimated $1.1 billion in aid increases as the state ignored its own funding formula for those schools, said Ted Settle, OLS principal research analyst.
"That's a billion dollars that was put on the backs of property taxes," said Mike Yaple, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association.
Three of the six committee members working on the issue have Abbott schools in their legislative districts. In the full Legislature, 23 of the 40 legislative districts include Abbott schools.
Lawmakers from both parties said they believed the two sides could work together.
"There's an appropriate representation on this committee of the diversity of school districts in the state," Adler said.
Assemblyman David W. Wolfe, R-Ocean, said he would fight for middle-class, suburban and rural districts.
"Both chairmen have indicated a desire to be fair and to have equity, and I think that's what we can ask for as a starting point," Wolfe said.
With Thursday's meeting complete, all four committees examining property taxes have now met for their introductory sessions. Each committee has one more meeting scheduled this month.
Jonathan Tamari: jtamari@gannett.com
