Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

 
     3-30-13 Education in the News - Dept of Education-State Budget, Autism Rates in NJ
     3-20-12 Education Issues in the News
     3-6-12Tenure Reform News - Discussion at Senate Education Committee
     2-23-12 State Aid Figures Released late today: GSCS Statement
     2-29-12 NJTV on NJ School Funding...and, Reporters' Roundtable back on the aire
     S1455 Ruiz TEACHNJ Act, introduced February 2012
     S1455 Ruiz TEACHNJ Act
     November Elections for Schools - Department of Education FAQ's
     1-18-12 GSCS ‘Take’ on the School Elections Law
     1-24-12 Education Issues in the News
     1-24-12 Supreme Court Justices Nominated by Governor Christie
     Committe Assignments for 2012-2013 under the new 215th Legislature rolling out
     Education Transformation Task Force Initial Report...45 recommendations for starters
     9-12-11 Governor's Press Notice & Fact Sheet re: Education Transformation Task Force Report
     Democrat Budget Proposal per S4000, for Fiscal Year 2011-2012
     Additional School Aid [if the school funding formula,SFRA, were fully funded for all districts] per Millionaires' Tax bill S2969
     6-24-11 Democrat Budget Proposal brings aid to all districts
     6-1-11 Supreme Court Justice nominee, Anne Paterson, passed muster with Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday by 11-1 margin
     4-29-11 BOOMERANG! Near 80 per cent of School Budgets Passed in Wednesday'sSchool Elections
     4-26-11 School Elections, Randi Weingarten in NJ, Special Educ Aid, Shared Services bill
     4-25-11 Charter Schools in Suburbia: More Argument than Agreement
     4-24-11 Major Education Issues in the News
     4-21-11 Supreme Court hears school funding argument
     4-14-11 Governor Releases Legislation to Address Education Reform Package
     4-13-11 Governor's Proposed Legislation on Education Reform April 2011
     4-5-11 Education Issues in the News
     4-8-11 Education Issues in the News
     4-7-11 Gov. Christie - 'Addressing New Jersey's Most Pressing Education Challenges'
     4-3-11Press of Atlantic City - Pending Supreme Court ruling could boost aid to New Jersey schools
     4-2-11 The Record - Charter school in Hackensack among 58 bids
     4-1-11 N.J. gets 58 charter school applications
     3-31-11 Charters an Issue in the Suburbs - and - So far, only 7 Separate Questions on April School Budget Ballots
     3-26-11 New Jersey’s school-funding battle could use a dose of reality
     Link to Special Master Judge Doyne's Recommendations on School Funding law to the Supreme Court 3-22-11
     3-22-11 Special Master's Report to the Supreme Court: State did not meet its school funding obligation
     GSCS - Local District Listing : Local Funds Transferred to Charter Schools 2001-2010
     GSCS Bar Chart: Statewide Special Education cost percent compared to Regular & Other Instructional cost percent 2004-2011
     3-4-11 'Teacher Evaluation Task Force Files Its Report'
     3-6-11 Poll: Tenure reform being positively received by the public
     Link to Teacher Evaluation Task Force Report
     GSCS Take on Governor's Budget Message
     Gov's Budget Message for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Today, 2pm
     Tenure Reform - Video patch to Commissioner Cerf's presentation on 2-16-10
     2-16-11 Commissioner Cerf talks to educators on Tenure, Merit Pay , related reforms agenda
     Assembly Education Committee hearing Feb 2-10-11
     Assembly Education Committee hearing today, Feb 10, 2011
     9-12-10 ‘Schools coping, in spite of steep cuts'
     12-10-10 ‘NJN could get funding to stay on air as lawmakers weigh network's fate’
     2-7-11 Education - and Controversy - in the News
     1-25-11 Education in the News
     1-24-11 GSCSS Testimony before Assembly Education Committee: Charter School Reform
     1-24-11 GSCS Testimony on Charter School Reform before Assembly Eduction Committee today
     1-20-11 GSCS Testimony before Senator Buono's Education Aid Impact hearing in Edison
     Assembly Education Hearing on Charter School Reform Monday, 1-24-11, 1 pm
     GSCS Board of Trustees endorsed ACTION LETTER to Trenton asking for caution on Charter School expansion
     GSCS testimony on Tenure Reform - Senate Education Committee 12-09-10
     12-12-10 'Rash of upcoming superintendent retirements raises questions on Gov. Christie's pay cap'
     12-8-10 Education & Related Issues in the News - Tenure Reform, Sup't Salary Caps Reactions, Property Valuations Inflated
     12-7-10 Education Issues continue in the news
     12-6-10 njspotlight.com 'Christie to Name New Education Commissioner by Year End'
     12-5-10 Sunday News - Education-related Issues
     11-19-10 In the News - First Hearing held on Superintendent Salary Caps at Kean University
     11-19-10 NJ Spotlight reports on 'National Report Card (NAEP) Rates NJ Schools'
     11-15-10 GSCS meeting with Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver
     GSCS Education Forum Stayed Focused on Quality Education
     Governor's Toolkit Summary - Updated November 2010
     11-18-10 Superintendent Salary Caps to be publicly discussed tonight at Kean University
     10-8-10 Education Issue in the News
     9-15-10 'Governor Christie outlines cuts to N.J. workers' pension, benefits'
     GSCS Heads Up - County-wide school district governance legislation getting ready to move
     9-1-10 Education in the News
     8-31-10 Latest development: Schunder's margin notes reveal application error
     8-27-10 later morning - breaking news: Statehouse Bureau ‘Gov. Chris Christie fires N.J. schools chief Bret Schundler’
     8-27-10 Star Ledger ‘U.S. officials refute Christie on attempt to fix Race to the Top application during presentation’
     8-25-10 Race to the Top articles - the 'day after' news analysis
     8-24-10 Race to the Top Award Recipients named
     8-23-10 S2208 (Sarlo-Allen prime sponsors) passes 36-0 (4 members 'not voting') in the Senate on 8-23-10
     8-16-10 Senate Education hears 'for discussion only' comments re expanding charter school authorization process; Commissioner Schundler relays education priorities to the Committee
     8-13-10 East Brunswick Public School seeks stay on Hatikvah Charter School opening this fall (re: Hatikvah not meeting minimum enrollment requirement)
     7-22-10 'Summer school falls victim to budget cuts in many suburban towns'
     7-21-10 List of bills in Governor's 'Toolkit'
     Governor's Toolkit bills listing
     7-18-10 Troublesome sign of the times? Read article on the growing trend for education foundations - the pressure to provide what the state no longer supports for education...California's Proposition 13 cited
     7-16-10 GSCS Information & Comments - S29 Property Tax Cap Law and Proposal to Reduce Superintendent salaries ....
     7-15 & 16 -10 'Caps - PLURAL!' in the news
     GSCS - High costs of Special Education must be addressed asap, & appropriately
     7-12-10 Assembly passes S29 - the 2% cap bill - 73 to 4, with 3 not voting
     GSCS re:PropertyTax Cap bill - Exemption needed for Special Education enrollment costs
     7-8-10 Tax Caps, Education in the News
     GSCS:Tax Cap Exemption needed for Special Education Costs
     7-3-10 Governor Christie and Legislative leaders reached agreement today on a 2% property tax cap with 4 major exemptions
     7-1 and 2- 10 Governor Christie convened the Legislature to address property tax reform
     6-29-10 GSCS - The question remains: ? Whither property Tax Reform
     GSCS On the Scene in Trenton: State Budget poised to pass late Monday...Cap Proposals, Opportunity Scholarship Act in Limbo
     GSCS On the Scene in Trenton: Cap Proposals, Opportunity Scholarship Act in Limbo
     6-25-10 Appropriations Act bills for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 available on NJ Legislature website - here are the links
     6-23-10 Trenton News: State Budget on the move...Education Issues
     On the GSCS Radar Screen: Recently proposed (early June '10) legislation S2043 brings back Last Best Offer (LBO) for school boards in negotiations
     On the GSCS RADAR SCREEN S2021 (June '10) sponsored by Senator Tom Kean
     On the GSCS Radar Screen: Recently proposed legislation S2043 brings back Last Best Offer (LBO) for school boards in negotiations
     6-8-10 Education issues in the news today - including 'hold' on pension reform, round two
     On the GSCS Legislative Radar Screen
     6-4-10 S1762 passed unanmiously out of Senate Education Committee yesterday
     6-3-10 RTTT controversy remains top news - articles and editorials, column
     6-2-10 RACE TO THE TOP (RTTT) 'NJ STYLE': It is what it is ...but what exactly is it? Race to the Top application is caught in a crossfire of reports - more information and clarity is needed
     Senate Education Committee Agenda for 6-3-10
     5-11-10 njspotlight.com focuses on NJ's plans for and reactions to education reform
     ADMINISTRATION'S PLANS CITED FOR ROUND 2 - RACE TO THE TOP GRANT
     5-8 & 9-10 Education Reform Proposals Annoucned
     5-9-10 'Gov Christie to propose permanent caps on salary raises for public workers'
     5-3-10 NY Times 'Despite Push, Success at Charter Schools is Mixed
     3-30-10 Race to the Top winners helped by local buy-in
     3-31-10 What's Going on in Local Districts?
     3-26-10 GSCS: Effective & Well-Reasoned Communication with State Leaders is Critical
     3-26-10 School Aid, Budget Shortfall - Impt Related Issues = Front Page News
     3-25-10 NEW PENSION REFORM LAW - INFORMATION
     FAQ's on Pension Reform bills signed into law March 22, 2010
     3-23-10 GSCS Testimony presented to Senate Budget Committee on State Budget FY'11
     3-21-10 Reform bills up for a vote in the Assembly on Monday, March 22
     3-11-10 'GOP vows tools to cut expenses, tighter caps'
     3-5-10 HomeTowne Video taping + interviews of GSCS Summit@Summit
     3-5-10 GSCS Summit@Summit with Bret Schundler to be lead topic on Hall Institute's weekly 2:30 pm podcast today
     2-26-10 'NJ average property taxes grow 3.3 percent to an average of $7,300'
     2-25-10 Gov. Christie's Red Tape Review Comm., chaired by Lt. Gov. Guadagno, to hold public hearings In March
     2-24-10 Pension Reform bills to be introduced in Assembly this Thursday
     2-24-10 'Tight funds raise class sizes that districts long sought to cut'
     2-22-10 Christie and unions poised to do batttle over budget cuts'
     2-19-10 'Acting NJ education commissioner hoping other savings can ward off cuts'
     2-22-10 Trenton Active Today
     Flyer for March 2 Education 'Summit@Summit'
     MARK YOUR CALENDARS! GSCS GENERAL MEMBERSHIP-STATEWIDE MEETING 'THE SUMMIT AT SUMMIT', TUESDAY MARCH 2, 7:30 p.m., Details to follow
     2-14-10 'FAQ's on NJ's state of fiscal emergency declaration by Gov. Christie'
     2-12-10 Assembly Budget hearing posted for this Wednesday, Feb. 17
     FY2010 Budget Solutions - PRESS PACKET
     School Aid Withheld Spreadsheet
     2-12-10 News Coverage: Governor Christie's message on actions to address current fiscal year state budget deficits
     2-11-10 Gov Christie address to Joint Session of the Legislature on state budget and current year aid reduction remains scheduled for today
     2-10-10 'Schools are likely targets for NJ budget cuts'
     2-9-10 News article posted this morning notes potential for large loss of current year school aid
     2-8-10 Northjersey.com editorial 'Tightenting our Belts'
     2-8-10 'School leaders around N.J. wait and worry over state aid figures'
     2-8-10'Gov Christie, lawmakers proporse sweeping pension, health care changes for public employees'
     2-4-10 'Christie advisers call for tough new school rules'
     1-28-10 School Surplus plan to supplant State Aid in this year gaining probability
     Governor Christie Education Transition Team Report , released 1-22-10
     1-22-10 "N.J. poll finds support for easier teach dismissal, merit pay'
     1-20-10 'N.J. files application for federal Race to the Top education money'
     1-20-10 Editorials, Commentary on New Governor in Trenton
     1-18-10 Advance news on 'Christie as new Governor'
     GSCS to speak at Tri-District 'Open' meeting in Monmouth on January 27
     1-15-10 Education News-Race to the Top incentives, NCLB annual results, supermajority vote upheld
     1-14-10 'N.J. Gov.-elect Christie targets teachers' union with Schundler appointment'
     1-14-10 'To lead schools, Christie picks voucher advocate'
     1-12-10 Lame Duck Session is over
     1-11-10 Transition News
     1-10-10 'Educators say consolidating school districts doesn't add up'
     1-8-10 Of Note for schools - from Lame Duck session yesterday, 1-7-10
     1-6-10 Race to the Top Plans on the move, not without conflict
     1-6-10 Lame Duck Legislative Calendar Updated
     12-31-09 Commissioner invites chief school administrators to Race to the Top meeting
     1-5-10 GSCS: Update on January 4 Lame Duck Session & State School Aid Proposal
     1-5-10 Lame Duck Legislative Calendar through January 12th
     1-5-10 Update on January 4 Lame Duck Session
     12-23-09 Gannett article provides details on Gov. Corzine's proposal to use additional surplus in place of state aid
     12-23-09 GSCS: Governor Corzine targets excess school surplus to replace state aid payments starting in Feb '10 - lame duck legislation anticipated
     1-4-10 Legislative Calendar through January 12th
     1-4-10 Assembly Education Committee Agenda
     12-30-09 January 4th Senate Quorum -Committee Schedule (Assembly not yet public information)
     January 2010 Lame Duck Legislative Schedule
     12-15-09 Also on the GSCS Radar Screen
     12-15-09 On the GSCS Radar Screen: S2850 poised for a vote
     11-17-09 Politickernj's 'Inside Edge' on Possible Education Committee Chairs
     11-19-09 GSCS HEADS UP: Prevailing Wage bills on 'lame duck fast track' to be heard on 11-23-09
     11-13-09 Education Week on: Gov-elect Christie's Education Agenda; Race to the Top Funds Rules
     11-12-09 p.m. Lame Duck Schedule Announced
     10-26-09 'High school sports spending grows as budgets get tighter inNew Jersey'
     10-2009 On the GSCS Radar Screen
     10-1-09 Education Week on Acheivement Gap narrowing; Algebra Testing
     10-1-09 Information on S2850 Prevailing Wage bill - food service workers included
     9-29-09 My Central NJ article on merging v home rule struggle
     GSCS Report on its Annual Meeting June 2009
     9-27-09 Education News of Note
     9-23-09 'Tests changing for special ed students'
     9-13-09 As an issue for N.J.(Gubernatorial election), schools are in'
     8-10-09 News of Note
     8-7-09 'Bill would strengthen teacher tenure rights'
     7-14-09 Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial
     6-26-09 Floor Amendment to A1489 re Extracurricular fees
     6-26-09 Executive Director to GSCS Trustees; Wrap Up Report - State Budget and Assembly bills this week
     6-26-09 Education Issues in the News
     6-23-09 A4141 & S3000 clarifies how to eliminate Non-Operating school districts
     6-23-09 Grassroots at Work re A4140, A4142 and A1489
     6-23-09 Press of Atlantic City on Assembly Education hearing yestserday
     6-22-09 Assembly Education moves bills out of committee
     6-22-09 GSCS Testimony A1489, A4140, A4142
     6-22-09 Bills A4140, 4142, and A1489
     6-21-09 Assembly Education hearing for 6-22 9 am
     6-15-09 GSCS Testifies on its concerns re S2850
     6-11-09 GSCS - it sometimes defies logic
     4-5-09 The Record, Sunday April 5, Front Page Opinion
     4-5-09 A new approach to an old math problem'
     12-28-08 NY Times 'Pension Fight Signals What Lies Ahead'
     12-29-08 NJ to new leaders - Fund our schools
     12-21-08 GSCS EMAILNET - Excerpts
     11-25-08 Perspective piece criticizes recent Supreme Court Abbott decision
     11-24-08 Editorial asks for preschool initiative slow down
     11-23-08 'State lacks financial incentives to sell concept of school mergers'
     11-4-08 NCLB early test results
     10-6-08 D.O.E. October Workshops on Transforming High Schools
     10-6-08 October Workshops on Tranforming High Schools
     GSCS, Special Education Coalition for Funding Reform, and Rutgers Institute co-sponsor Forum Oct 7th
     10-8-08 GSCS spotlights preschool expansion implementation issues as a prioirty
     9-30-08 Senate Education Committee meets 10-2-08
     9-24-08 Editorials re High School Redesign issues
     9-24-08 Commissioner of Education at Assembly Education Committee yesterday
     9-24-08 Supreme Court hearing on constitutionality of School Funding Reform Act
     9-17-08 HIGH SCHOOL 'REDESIGN' PLAN TO BE DISCUSSED AT STATE BOARD OF ED TODAY
     SAVE THE DATE - OCT. 7TH
     6-17-08 School bills passed in Assembly yesterday
     6-13-08 News on Education Committee actions yesterday in Trenton
     4-07 The CORE bill 'A4' in its entirety
     5-15-08 Bills A10 and A15 already posted for a vote in the Assembly this Monday 5-19-08
     9-20-07 New Jersey School Boards Assoc. Releases its Report on Special Education
     9-20-07 With eyes on the future, justices look back at Abbott
     7-31-07 EMAILNET Status of School Funding Formula, more
     Public Education Institute Forum 9-19-07
     Recent education Research articles of note from Public Educ Network
     APRIL '07 MOODY's OUTLOOK ON SCHOOLS -NEGATIVE
     8-9-06 Special Session Jt Comm on Consolidation of Govt Services meeting 8-8-06
     8-2-06 Special Session 4 committees description
     8-2-06 Legislature's descriptoin of Jt Comm on School Funding Reform
     7--31-06 Legislature appoints Joint Committees on Property Tax Reform
     7-29-06 School Funding formula draws mixed reactions
     7-28-06 Gov to legislature: make history, cut taxes
     7-27-06 Trenton begins its move to address property taxes
     7-25-06 Associated Press Prop Tax Q & A
     7-19-06 Ledger -Advocates sue for release of report on school funding
     7-16-06 (thru 7-21-06) Bergen Record series investigate cost of NJ public services & property tax link
     7-18-06 Live from the Ledger
     7-18-06 Education Law Center takes state to court over funding study
     7-18-07 Star Ledger on high taxes & quality education in one town
     7-16-06 Bergen Record series investigate cost of NJ public services & property tax link
     7-14-06 EMAILNET
     7-13-06 Articles - Property tax issues, teacher salaries, voucher suit filing
     7-12-06 Statehouse starts talking specifics about property tax reform
     7-11-06 Talk of Special Session on Property Tax Reform
     6-15-06 Star Ledger, Gannet articles- Abbott advocates demand school reform at educ. dept
     A54 Roberts - Revises title and duties of county supterintendent
     Status of Senate bills related to SCI report
     6-12-06 EMAILNET - Extraordinary Special Education student aid; FY07 Budget 'crunch' is on; news clips
     6-6-06 Legislative Leaders announce initial plans for property tax reform
     S1546 Moves School Elections - GSCS Position
     Representative GSCSTestimonies
     Funding Coalition submits paper 'Beginning Discussions on School Funding Reform'
     Find Your Legislator
     5-14-06N Y Times 'For school budgets the new word is NO'
     Assembly Speaker Roberts proposes 'CORE' plan for schools & towns
     AR168 WatsonColeman-Stanley
     5-16-06 EMAILNET Action in Trenton
     5-10-06 A Lot is going on - Major News fromTrenton
     5-9-06 Supreme Ct freezes aid & Asm Budget Comm grills DOE Commissioner
     4-21-06 School budget election fallout - politicians & press comment
     3-28-06 GSCS testimony before Assembly Budget Comm today
     4-17-06 EMAILNET
     4-8-07 Corzine Administration files brief with Supreme Court re Abbott funding
     4-16-06 Star Ledger editorial & article re Gov v. Abbott from 4-15-06
     3-28-06 GSCS testimony before Assembly Budget Comm
     Legislative Calendar during State Budget FY07 process
     3-24-06 Schools learn who wins, loses in Corzine budget
     3-10-06 Star Ledger 'Time is ripe for poorer districts to contribute.
     2-22-06 New York Times NCLB - 20 states ask for flexibility
     2-1-06 EMAILNET GSCS Advocacy FY07 Budget; On the Homepage Today
     Governor Corzine's Transition Team Reports
     1-25-06 Star Ledger 'School District's Woes Point to Rising Tax Resistance'
     1-19-06 EMAILNET Quick Facts, On the Homepage Today
     The Record7-10-05 Sunday Front Page Must Read
     GSCS submission to Governor Corzine's Education Policy Transiton Team
     1-15-06 The Record 2 Sunday Articles anticipating top issues confronting the Corzine administration
     1-15-06 Sunday Star Ledger front page on Property Taxes
     1-12-06 Star Ledger 'Lawmaker pushes tax relief plan'
     12-14-05 Asbury ParkPress Editorial 'Re-assess the ABC's of School Funding' notes the Governor's role is critical in making positive change occur
     Star Ledger 6-17-06 Seniors call for Tax Convention Senate Prefers Special Session
     Activists Hope to Revive School Funding Issue
     December 2005 Harvard Famiily Research Project Links
     12-5-05 Governor-elect Corzine selects policy advisory groups
     EMAILNET 12-3-05 Heads Up!
     YOU ARE INVITED - GSCS Invitation: Members and friends of education are invited to a December 7 Symposium on School Funding 'It's Time to get off the Dime - Pitfalls, Priorities and Potential'
     10-19-05 Courier Post-Gannett article on Gubernatorial Debate
     11-1-05 EMAILNET More information on Gubernatorial Candidates
     Lameduck Legislative Calendar November 10 2005 - January 9, 2006
     11-9-05 8 a.m. Election November 8 2005 information
     11-8-05 EMAILNET You are invited to Dec & Symposium on School Funding
     10-14-05 EMAILNET Parent question for Gubernatorial Candidates aired on 101.5 debate, SCC funds, Next Board meeting, press briefing notes
     November 8 2005 YOUR VOTE TODAY COUNTS ... Some news articles worth reading
     Education Law Center Issues Guildlines for Abbot School Districts
     10-16-05 Sunday Star Ledger & Gannet news articles on gubernatorial candidates take on important issues related to public education issues
     10-5-05 PRESS BRIEFING ON SCHOOL AID & FUNDING SPONSORED by Ad Hoc School Finance Discussion Group, GSCS is participant...10-6-05 ASbury Park Press (Gannett) & Press of Atlantic City articles
     Proposed State Budget for Fiscal Year 2006 - GSCS Testimony
     GSCS Testimony before Constitutional Convention Task Force
     NCLB
4-24-11 Major Education Issues in the News
Star Ledger - Rhetoric less heated in N.J. school elections this year, experts say... "When a budget is cut, you live with those cuts for subsequent years," Saiff (Highland Park School Board President) said. "When you cut off an appendage, it’s not growing back. It’s gone and you learn to live without it." The growing costs of charter schools have become an increasingly visible issue in Highland Park, Saiff said. This year, for example, the Middlesex County district sent $22,000 to two local charters that have enrolled former borough students. Next year, the board expects that number to jump to $300,000, she said. "That’s another cost we will have to deal with and another drain on the budget," said Saiff, who opposes a plan to open a third charter school in town.

Charter schools are becoming a hot issue in a growing number of communities and in elections across the state, said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. "The more charter schools expand, the more people become concerned about them," said Strickland, who represents about 100 districts in mostly suburban communities. "Charter schools cost local taxpayers money, and it’s one budget item they have no say over."

Associate Press-The Record - NJ school elections less fiery a year after revolt

Star Ledger - If N.J. Supreme Court orders increased school aid, Gov. Christie says not complying is among ‘options’

Philadelphia Inquirer - Christie v. Court: Is threat for real?

Star Ledger - Rhetoric less heated in N.J. school elections this year, experts say

"When a budget is cut, you live with those cuts for subsequent years," Saiff (Highland Park School Board President) said. "When you cut off an appendage, it’s not growing back. It’s gone and you learn to live without it."

The growing costs of charter schools have become an increasingly visible issue in Highland Park, Saiff said. This year, for example, the Middlesex County district sent $22,000 to two local charters that have enrolled former borough students. Next year, the board expects that number to jump to $300,000, she said. "That’s another cost we will have to deal with and another drain on the budget," said Saiff, who opposes a plan to open a third charter school in town.

Charter schools are becoming a hot issue in a growing number of communities and in elections across the state, said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. "The more charter schools expand, the more people become concerned about them," said Strickland, who represents about 100 districts in mostly suburban communities. "Charter schools cost local taxpayers money, and it’s one budget item they have no say over."

Associate Press-The Record - NJ school elections less fiery a year after revolt

Star Ledger - If N.J. Supreme Court orders increased school aid, Gov. Christie says not complying is among ‘options’

Philadelphia Inquirer - Christie v. Court: Is threat for real?

He has considered ignoring N.J. justices if they order more school funding. Legal scholars said that would be a historic breach.

Star Ledger - Rhetoric less heated in N.J. school elections this year, experts say

Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011, 6:49 PM     Updated: Sunday, April 24, 2011, 8:13 AM

By Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger
Frustrated over increases in school spending and property taxes during a down economy, New Jersey voters, at the urging of Gov. Chris Christie, rejected their local school budgets in record numbers last year.

The results could be a lot different this year, as voters head to the polls Wednesday to cast ballots on 538 spending plans, education experts and school officials said.

"Last year was all about sound bites — ‘Turn down the budget. Send a message’ — and this year it’s about reality," Assembly Education Committee chairman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) said. "Local school boards are faced with the insurmountable challenge of doing great things with fewer resources, and residents are starting to understand that."

The economy is still problematic, but it’s not as suffocating as last year, said Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. Most districts have proposed austere budgets, with price tags falling at or below the 2 percent property tax cap championed by Christie and signed into law last year.

Statewide, 11 districts will present voters with "second questions" on additional spending projects whose combined cost tops $3.3 million. Another 14 municipalities will, for the first time, ask voters to approve non-school spending ventures that exceed the new tax cap.

Proposed budgets in more than 60 municipalities exceed the 2 percent tax cap because the school districts have included expenses, such as health insurance, that fall outside the limit.

"It’s a calmer year," Belluscio said. "I think it gives the community a greater opportunity to focus on education goals and how to fulfill those goals."

Last year, voters approved just 41 percent of the proposed budgets — the lowest number since 1976 and a 30-point drop from 2009, when 73 percent of budgets passed. Voter turnout also spiked last year.

"We will certainly be above (last year’s) mark, but how much higher the approval rate will be is hard to determine because the economy remains a factor," Belluscio said.

Locked in a fiery debate with the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, Christie last year called upon taxpayers to reject budgets in districts where teachers had refused to accept a pay freeze. This year, the governor has been mum on school budgets.

Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said the governor still supports "shared sacrifice."

"New Jersey is still dealing with fiscal challenges, which is why we continue to support any efforts by districts, local employees and their leadership to responsibly and efficiently manage district budgets," Roberts said. "And that is what voters expect as well as they consider them for approval."

School boards are often asked to do the impossible — offer more services without raising taxes. A poll released last week by Quinnipiac University showed 59 percent of voters would rather cut services than raise taxes, while 71 percent oppose cuts in state aid to public schools.

The Hopatcong School District faces this dilemma every year, Superintendent Charles Maranzano said. Taxpayers in the Sussex County borough have approved the local school budget just three times in the past 20 years, most recently in 2004.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:


N.J. voters reject school budgets in heated elections

"We have a long history of failed budgets," Maranzano said. "This is largely a bedroom community. There are no ratables in this town, and on top of that, a lot of people are out of work."

Maranzano said he is "cautiously optimistic" this year’s budget will be approved, but he understands voters’ frustration.

"Who could blame the taxpayers? We are all taxpayers," Maranzano said. "But once you reduce funding and resources for schools considerably, the quality becomes hard to maintain."

Taxpayers vent their rage in school elections because they don’t get to vote on much else that directly affects their taxes, said Bruce Baker, an associate professor at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education. Voters can voice their opinions on school budgets, but not on municipal, state or federal budgets.

"Budget approval historically has oscillated with public sentiment about the economy," Baker said. "1976 was the last time the economic indicators were roughly as bad as last year and as many budgets got voted down."

Wendy Saiff, president of the Highland Park Board of Education, said deciding which programs and services end up on the chopping block during tough economic times is "horrible."

"When a budget is cut, you live with those cuts for subsequent years," Saiff said. "When you cut off an appendage, it’s not growing back. It’s gone and you learn to live without it."

The growing costs of charter schools have become an increasingly visible issue in Highland Park, Saiff said. This year, for example, the Middlesex County district sent $22,000 to two local charters that have enrolled former borough students. Next year, the board expects that number to jump to $300,000, she said.

"That’s another cost we will have to deal with and another drain on the budget," said Saiff, who opposes a plan to open a third charter school in town.

Charter schools are becoming a hot issue in a growing number of communities and in elections across the state, said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. "The more charter schools expand, the more people become concerned about them," said Strickland, who represents about 100 districts in mostly suburban communities. "Charter schools cost local taxpayers money, and it’s one budget item they have no say over."

 

Associate Press-The Record - NJ school elections less fiery a year after revolt

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The Record

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HADDONFIELD — A year after a taxpayer revolt at the polls, New Jersey's school budget elections are back on Wednesday — with some major differences.

Proposed budget increases are more modest, largely because of a state law mandating that they be; Gov. Chris Christie isn't actively campaigning against budgets this time; and the election is being held on a Wednesday, an unfamiliar day for voting.

New Jersey is the only state where voters in most school districts get to vote up or down the entire school tax levy every year — a relatively rare opportunity for citizens to have a direct say on how much they're taxed. That sounds like a big chance for weary taxpayers to speak up in a state with by far the nation's highest average property tax bill of more than $7,300, the bulk of it to support schools.

But usually, the results are predictable: Turnout in the elections — where school board members are also elected — is tiny, usually well under 20 percent of registered voters. And a large majority of the proposed budgets are adopted in a state where scores on comparable standardized tests consistently rank among the nation's best.

Last year, it was reversed.

Christie, a Republican whose war of words with teachers unions is a hallmark of his governorship, campaigned against budgets last year. He said voters should reject proposals in districts where teachers didn't agree to pay freezes and increases in their health insurance payments.

It was only fair, he said, that they sacrifice.

Facing shrinking tax revenue and less federal education aid, his administration slashed subsidies to local school districts, leading to widespread layoffs and program cuts. Even the proposed budgets in many districts last year called for some cuts, and they ended up being deeper when voters rejected them (rejected budgets are sent to municipal governments to cut).

Voters heeded the governor's call and the situation by turning out — and voting "no" — in unusually high numbers. Nearly 27 percent of registered voters participated in the election — twice the percentage as the previous year. And they rejected nearly 60 percent of the budgets, the most since at least 1976.

But this year's circumstances are different.

Christie is proposing $250 million more in aid to be spread around to the state's schools, which takes some of the burden off the property taxes to fund schools. The money has also meant districts could avoid further cuts they were bracing for.

The class trip for eighth graders in Gloucester City, for instance, could be spared. And in the Chathams, the fee for extracurricular activities imposed a year ago is slated to be reduced.

It's also the first year of a law capping tax levy increases in most cases at 2 percent. That's down from a 4 percent limit last year. The state Education Department says only 9 of the 538 districts with budget elections have additional ballot questions for spending, including some items that would push the districts over their 2 percent caps.

"They're really striving to keep it low," said Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. "They understand what's going on out there with the economy. There's been a real effort to keep it under 2 percent."

A Rutgers Eagleton poll conducted in late March and early April found voters hadn't given much thought to how they'll vote in the elections. Thirty percent said they'd vote yes, 16 percent no and 15 percent said they wouldn't bother to vote. The biggest group — about two in five — said they didn't know how they'd vote.

A year ago, there was a major push against the budget proposals. Christie wrote a newspaper editorial telling voters to reject any plan that didn't include "shared sacrifice," and educators in only about 20 districts agreed to the concessions he was pushing. Also, Christie's sparring with the New Jersey Education Association was making headlines practically daily in the run-up to voting.

This time, he isn't campaigning against budget plans.

NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer said Christie was wrong to link layoffs, program cuts and increased student fees for extracurricular activities with teachers' refusals to accept contract concessions. The real problem, he said, was the cut in state aid.

"Last year, he obviously had an impact on both the turnout and the results," said Steve Wollmer, a spokesman for the NJEA. "He ran a misinformation campaign. People fell for it."

This year, no major opposition to budgets has surfaced.

The major campaign is just to remind voters when the election is. It's usually held on the third Tuesday in April. But former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler moved it to April 27 this year — the fourth Wednesday — to avoid conflicting with Passover.

 

Philadelphia Inquirer - Christie v. Court: Is threat for real?

He has considered ignoring N.J. justices if they order more school funding. Legal scholars said that would be a historic breach.

Just how powerful is he?

Gov. Christie said last week that he had mulled defying a possible order from New Jersey's Supreme Court to restore funding to schools.

The statement, on a call-in radio show, left legal scholars wondering whether this was the Republican governor just spouting threats and bluster - or foreshadowing an unprecedented break with tradition.

If Christie ignores the ruling, scholars said, he could be ruled in contempt of court and personally fined, he could be impeached for violating his oath of office, or he could trigger a constitutional crisis and the statewide closing of schools.

Or maybe nothing would result, and voters would be left to decide whether to reelect a governor who overruled the highest court in his state in the name of fiscal prudence.

To the Rutgers University faculty member who founded the group suing for more school funding, such defiance is so unfathomable it calls to mind the Arkansas governor who, 54 years ago, ignored the U.S. Supreme Court order to integrate public schools.

"In our system, one branch doesn't say to another: 'Sorry, you have acted in your authority, but I don't like your actions, so I don't have to follow it,' " said professor Paul Tractenberg. "Christie might not be literally standing in the schoolhouse doors and blocking them, but he's doing something very" similar.

The current case had its origins nearly 40 years ago. The nonprofit Education Law Center sued the state for more money for poor schools, saying equitable funding was a right under the state constitution because of a provision, approved by voters in 1875, mandating a "thorough and efficient" education.

Christie has argued that the resulting court rulings, known as Abbott decisions, have been a failure because poor districts get a disproportionate amount of state funding - and spend far more per student - yet still have abysmal graduation rates and standardized test scores.

In 2010, to close a yawning budget deficit, Christie eliminated $1 billion in school funding. He restored just $250 million in his proposed budget for the fiscal year that will begin in July.

Money, he argues, doesn't ensure students a good education. Instead, Christie has proposed to improve the lot of impoverished students by expanding charter schools, tying teacher tenure to students' academic performance, and rewarding educators in poor schools with higher salaries.

The Education Law Center has sued, saying the 2010 cuts violated the funding requirement set by the courts. Peter G. Verniero, a former Supreme Court justice who represents the Christie administration, has argued that the court must respect the separation of powers and allow the Legislature to handle spending.

In a decision expected in the coming weeks, the Supreme Court could mandate that Christie fork over as much as $1.7 billion. Its ruling could not be appealed to federal court.

If forced to pay, Christie said last week, he would not, "under any circumstances," raise taxes on an overtaxed public. He could cut spending, he said, but that would lead to the immediate closure of "many" hospitals, the layoff of police officers, and major cuts to Medicaid.

"These are ugly, ugly choices," he said Thursday night on the Ask the Governor show on New Jersey 101.5 FM.

The host then asked Christie if he could simply ignore the court's ruling.

"Well," he responded, "that's an option, too. . . . Have I thought of that? Of course I have."

Since he campaigned for office, Christie has railed against the court not only for its school-funding rulings but also for its requirements that municipalities provide affordable housing for the poor.

Judges "sound more like they're running for governor than trying to be a judge on a bench," he said on the radio show.

He called out Justice Barry T. Albin, who during a hearing on school funding last week brought up Christie's refusal to reinstate a so-called millionaire's tax, which some Democrats have said could help fund the schools.

"I've got to wonder what a nonelected justice of the Supreme Court - in the case that's supposed to be talking about constitutional issues - is doing bringing up any tax and advocating the raising of any tax . . . and then also declaring how that money should be spent once it's raised," Christie said.

Albin, he added, is a "perfect example of how unelected lifetime judges in our state have lost their sense of place in our democracy."

Taxes were brought up because of the inherent conflict in the school-funding case, said Rutgers-Camden law professor Robert F. Williams.

On one hand, New Jersey has a constitutional requirement to balance its budget, so available money supersedes spending mandates. On the other hand, the lack of money is, in part, a political decision that can be rectified by raising taxes or cutting spending.

Elected officials have repeatedly failed to reconcile this issue. In that sense, they have defied the court in much the same way that Christie has threatened, leaving justices to grapple with the Abbott case decade after decade, said David S. Cohen, professor at the Earle Mack School of Law at Drexel University.

"This is one of the big issues when the judiciary gets involved in major societal reform," Cohen said.

"As much as [justices] may have a correct interpretation of the state constitution and have the right legal and moral argument . . . they can't march into Christie's office or the Legislature and say, 'Do this or else,' " he said.

The only similar instance occurred in 1976, when the Legislature defied the court's orders in a related case on increasing school funding, resulting in the statewide closing of schools.

Fortunately, it was July, and in short order lawmakers and the governor passed the state's income tax to raise the needed money.

Christie's threat is taken seriously because he has shown a willingness to reject precedent. Last year, he did not reappoint Supreme Court Justice John Wallace Jr., a political moderate and the court's only African American. Instead he nominated a lawyer, Anne Patterson, whom the Democratic-controlled Senate won't confirm. It was the first time since New Jersey ratified its new constitution in 1947 that a justice had been denied tenure after a seven-year probationary period.

Former Republican Gov. Tom Kean once called a justice "communistic," according to Williams, yet renominated him because to do otherwise would "interfere with the independence of the court."

Kean didn't want justices to look "over their shoulders."

Now justices are "walking on eggshells," said Rutgers-Newark law professor Frank Askin. One justice, Helen E. Hoens, will be up for tenure during Christie's current term and is therefore "under the gun," Askin said.

Could the governor's statement last week just be a means of intimidation? And could the court's ruling show it worked?

"We will never know the answer to that question," Williams said, "but everyone will speculate about it, either way."


Contact staff writer Matt Katz

at 609-217-8355, mkatz@phillynews.com or @mattkatz00 on Twitter. Read the "Christie Chronicles" blog

at philly.com/christiechronicles.

 

Star Ledger - If N.J. Supreme Court orders increased school aid, Gov. Christie says not complying is among 'options'

Published: Friday, April 22, 2011, 7:45 AM     Updated: Friday, April 22, 2011, 10:50 AM

By Ginger Gibson/Statehouse Bureau The Star-Ledger

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie said last night that he hasn’t ruled out defying the state Supreme Court if it orders him to spend more money on poor public school students.

During the “Ask the Governor” radio program on New Jersey 101.5, Christie was asked whether he could just ignore the court if it ruled against him — a prospect that could compel him to restore up to $1.7 billion in school aid.

“That’s an option,” Christie replied. “I’m not going to sit here and speculate. … There are a whole bunch of options in the contingency plan.”

Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts last night would not say how seriously the governor is considering not complying.

Christie went on the attack against the state Supreme Court, a day after it heard oral arguments about whether he violated the state constitution by cutting public school funding last year.

Christie also took aim at Associate Justice Barry Albin, singling him out as an example of how “judges have lost their sense of place in our democracy.”

During the court’s arguments over the state’s obligation to its poorest students, Albin asked twice about the decision to not renew a “millionaires tax” to raise revenue.

Christie, during the radio show, said Albin sounded more like a “candidate for governor” than a “tenured judge.”

“He was advocating yesterday to put his hand in the pockets of the taxpayer of New Jersey, take money out of it and determine himself how that money should be spent,” Christie said.

Paul Tractenberg, a Rutgers law professor and founder of the Education Law Center, which filed the lawsuit challenging the cuts, said Christie’s comments go far beyond the usual grumbling about the court’s decisions.

“I don’t think governors have ever said flat-out they were thinking of ignoring a court order,” he said. “We’d be in uncharted terrain … We essentially convert government into a dictatorship.”

Robert Williams, a Rutgers School of Law-Camden professor, said ignoring the court would prompt a constitutional crisis.

He said Christie has a track record of being hostile to the court.

“He’s campaigned against the court,” he said.

Winnie Comfort, spokeswoman for the judiciary, declined to comment about the possibility of Christie defying the court and said Albin declined to respond to the governor.

If he loses the case and opts to comply with the ruling, Christie predicted possible Draconian cuts, including closing hospitals and laying off firefighters and cops.

“I will not raise taxes under any circumstances,” he said.

Through spending cuts, Christie said there is a finite number of places he could go, such as hospital and municipal aid.

“You will see many hospitals across New Jersey close within a month,” Christie said of the possibility of cutting hospital aid. “They won’t be able to survive,”

Sen. Loretta Weinberg (DBergen) said Christie doesn’t have to cut aid to hospitals if he loses the school funding case.

“He can state he has no choice, but he does have other choices. The millionaires tax is an obvious one,” she said.