Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

 
     6-24-11 Democrat Budget Proposal brings aid to all districts
     4-29-11 BOOMERANG! Near 80 per cent of School Budgets Passed in Wednesday'sSchool Elections
     4-21-11 Supreme Court hears school funding argument
     4-14-11 Governor Releases Legislation to Address Education Reform Package
     4-8-11 Education Issues in the News
     4-7-11 Early news coverage & press releases - Governor's Brooking Inst. presentation on his education reform agenda
     3-25-11 Education Week on School Cutbacks Around The Nation
     2-7-11 Education - and Controversy - in the News
     12-5-10 Sunday News - Education-related Issues
     10-8-10 Education Issue in the News
     9-1-10 Education in the News
     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
     8-16-10 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)
     7-3-10 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
     GSCS On the Scene in Trenton: State Budget poised to pass late Monday...Cap Proposals, Opportunity Scholarship Act in Limbo
     6-28-10 State Budget tops the news today
     GSCS On the Scene in Trenton: Cap Proposals, Opportunity Scholarship Act in Limbo
     6-23-10 Trenton News: State Budget on the move...Education Issues
     6-11-10 In the News: State Budget moving ahead on schedule
     6-10-10 Op-Ed in Trenton Times Sunday June 6 2010
     6-8-10 Education issues in the news today - including 'hold' on pension reform, round two
     6-8-10 (posted) Education & Related Issues in the News
     6-4-10 Education News
     4-23-10 Education issues remain headline news
     4-22-10 School Elections - in the News Today
     4-6-10 'Gov. Chris Chrisite extends dealdine for teacher salary concessions'
     4-6-10 'NJ school layoffs, program cuts boost attention to Apri 20 votes
     4-2-10 Press of Atlantic City lists county impact re: school aid reduction
     4-2-10 'On Titanic, NJEA isn't King of the World'
     4-1-10 Courier Post article reports on Burlington and Camden County district budgets
     4-1-10 Education in the News today
     4-1-10 New Initiatives outlined to encourage wage freezes - reaction
     3-30-10 Race to the Top winners helped by local buy-in
     3-29-10 The Record and Asbury Park Press - Editorials
     3-26-10 School Aid, Budget Shortfall - Impt Related Issues = Front Page News
     3-23-10 ' N.J. Gov. Chris Christie signs pension, benefits changes for state employees'
     3-23-10 State Budget Issues in the News
     3-17-10 Budget News - Gov. Chris Christie proposes sacrifices
     3-17-10 Budget News - NJ Schools Stunned By Cuts
     3-14-10 'Christie will propose constitutional amendment to cap tax hikes in N.J. budget'
     3-4-10 'School aid cuts unavoidable during NJ budget crisis'
     3-3-10 'Public Education in N.J.: Acting NJ Comm of Educ Bret Schundler says 'Opportunity'
     2-26-10 'NJ average property taxes grow 3.3 percent to an average of $7,300'
     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
     2-16-10 'Christie Adopts Corzine Cuts, Then Some'
     1-29-10 Schools in the News
     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
     1-15-10 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'
     1-13-10 More articles, plus Wikipedia information re New Education Commissioner, Bret Schundler
     1-13-10 More articles + Wikipedia information re New Education Commissioner, Bret Schundler
     1-13-10 Christie Press Conference reports
     1-12-10 Change in Trenton
     1-6-10 Race to the Top Plans on the move, not without conflict
     12-23-09 Press of Atlantic City - 'Corzine forms panel to aid nonpublic schools'
     1-5-10 News articles re: lame duck
     1-4-10 'Last Call for Lame Ducks in Trenton'
     1-5-10 Update on January 4 Lame Duck Session
     12-28-09 Education Week 'Race to Top' Driving Policy Action Across States
     12-27-09 'New Jersey competes for education reform stimulus money' (aka 'Race to the Top' funds)
     12-20-09 Education in the News
     12-12 & 13-09 Education Issues in the News
     11-29-09 Ramifications - News of NJ's fiscal realities
     11-20-09 'Christie lays down his law for state'
     11-13-09 Education Week on: Gov-elect Christie's Education Agenda; Race to the Top Funds Rules
     11-12-09 Governor-elect Christie names his 10 member transition team
     11-11-09 'Oliver ready for Nov.23 leadership vote, wants up or down vote on marriage equality'
     11-11-09 Christie mum on fiscal emergency declaration
     11-9-09 Edcuation in the News
     11-8-09 News of Note
     11-6-09 News of Note
     11-5-09 Day After the Election News
     11-3-09 ELECTION DAY IS TODAY - SHOW UP AND VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATES OF YOUR CHOICE
     11-2-09 NY Times NJ Governors' race update
     11-4-09 Record low turnout elects Chris Chrisite NJ's Governor
     11-3-09 'Chris Christie wins N.J. governor race'
     11-1-09 Education News of Note
     Education Week on Federal Stimulus Funding Issues
     10-26-09 'High school sports spending grows as budgets get tighter inNew Jersey'
     10-22-09 News of Note
     10-20-09 News of Note
     10-19-09 Education Week 'States felling fiscal pain despite the stimulus'
     10-14-09 'Meetings are just the tip of the iceberg'
     10-7 & 9-09 Gubernatorial Campaign news: Candidates on education; Corzine on next year's state budget
     10-5-09 Gannett: Editorial & Recommendations re: Gubernatorial Campaign Issues '09
     10-4-09 NY Times 'As Property Taxes Become a Real Burden'
     10-2-09 News of Note
     10-1-09 Education Week on Acheivement Gap narrowing; Algebra Testing
     9-30-09 'Attack ads give way to issues as campaign enters final phase'
     9-30-09 Results of School Construction bond referenda rolling in
     9-27-09 Education News of Note
     9-23-09 'Tests changing for special ed students'
     9-16-09 Courier News Editorial
     9-9-09 News of Note
     9-13-09 As an issue for N.J.(Gubernatorial election), schools are in'
     9-3 & 4-09 News of Note
     8-20-09 'Nearly all NJ teachers are highly qualified'
     8-10-09 News of Note
     8-7-09 'Bill would strengthen teacher tenure rights'
     8-4-09 Recent NJ Education News of Note
     7-22-09 'State gives extra aid for schools an extraordinary boost'
     7-16-08 Schools Testing measures adopted; Test scoring upgraded - harder to pass
     7-14-09 Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial
     7-1-09 What's the Buzz: News of Note
     4-23-09 The public shows its support for public education in passing nearly 75 per cent of school budgets statewide
     4-17-09 The $609M Federal Stimulus aid to NJ - initial reactions
     4-19 and 20-09 Editorial and School Elections articles
     3-29-09 Record Editorial on Judge Doyne recommendations
     3-10-09 GOVERNOR TO DELIVER STATE BUDGET MESSAGE TODAY - SCHOOL AID FIGURES TO BE RELEASED BY THURSDAY LATEST
     1-11-09 'Corzine State of State speech to put economy front & center'
     12-28-08 NY Times 'Pension Fight Signals What Lies Ahead'
     12-29-08 NJ to new leaders - Fund our schools
     11-19-08 'Too soon to scrap Abbott'
     11-24-08 Editorial asks for preschool initiative slow down
     11-23-08 State lacks financial incentives to sell concept of school mergers
     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
     8-29-08 'Newly hired teachers benefit from Corzine delay'
     8-26-08 What's the Buzz...
     News on the Issues - Stay Informed
     8-15-08 'Superintendents sue education commissioner'
     8-14-07 In the news today
     7-28 &29- 08 Fuel cost crisis impacting school budgets across the nation
     6-13-08 News on Education Committee actions yesterday in Trenton
     6-10-08 NJ lawmakers work on $33B spending plan Tuesday
     6-9-08 GSCS Quick Facts: TRENTON FOCUS THIS WEEK
     6-4-08 In the News
     5-21-08 News Articles & editorial
     4-30-08 'Loophole on town mergers targeted
     4-18 & 4-21-08 RECENT LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS: 3 MAJOR POLICY CHANGES PROMOTED BY ASSEMBLY SPEAKER ROBERTS
     NEWS EDITORIALS Star Ledger 4-19 & 4-20 Ammo for Abbott Foes & Spending but with Restraint
     Recent news articles of note re: probable 'lame duck ' legislative session issues - to be or not to be- and controversial school construction report
     10-23 Media reports & Trenton responses to date re GSCS Press Conf
     In the news - Corzine on school aid formula & good news for urban schools
     9-13-07Corzine adds school aid to the lame-duck agenda
     Back to School News of Note
     8-10-07 'Standing 'O' greets Corzine as he hosts town hall mtg'
     8-8-07 Editorial 'School [construction] program needs more than a facelift'
     8-2-07 Editorial 'Reliance on property taxes must be fixed'
     8-1-07 'Paterson isn't ready to gain control' & 7-29 'The Numbers still don't add up'
     7-27-07 Retiree health costs 'time bomb'
     7-26-07 'State's tab for retirees' health care is $58B'
     7-25-07 Debate over School Tests
     7-25-07 NY Times '2 NJ school districts regain some local control'
     6-29-07 Lots of news affecting NJ, its schools and communities this week - STATE BUDGET signed - LIST OF LINE ITEM VETOES - US SUPREME CT RULING impacts school desgregation - SPECIAL EDUCATION GROUPS file suit against state
     5-21-07 In Connecticut '2 School Aid Plans Have a Similar Theme'
     5-16-07 Education Week 'Frustration Builds in NJ Funding Debate'
     5-15-07 Grad students tackle school funding issues
     4-18-07 School Budget Vote passed statewide at 78% rate - GSCS take: state aid increases a factored in offsetting property tax increases, thus boosting passing rate by 24.6%, up from last year's passing rate of 53.4%
     4-4-07 News articles, editorial & Op-Ed on bill signings for A1 and A4
     4-4-07 N Y Times, front page 'NJ Pension Fund Endangered by Diverted Billions'
     3-25-07 New York Times on NJ Comparative Spending Guide, more on Gov putting off signing A1, Tax Caps & Rebate bill
     3-16-07 News articles
     3-15-07 State eases at risk aid restrictions & 25% members of NJ Senate retiring (so far)
     3-12-07 This article tells you why you cannot get easy access to legislator votes on-line
     3-8-07 'Education Chief Revamps Department'
     3-1-07 Op Ed piece re 'Super' Superintendent in the CORE Plan
     3-1-07 Emerging Devil showing up in the details
     2-23-07 News Articles re Gov's Budget Proposal
     2-22-07 Gov's Budget Message Link & Related News Articles
     2-22-07 News articles re Governor's Budget Message this morning
     2-21-07 Associated Press 'Codey Affirms More State Aid'
     2-16 to 2-19 News Articles of Note
     2-20-07 Live from the Ledger on-line
     2-21-07 Associated Press - Codey Affrims More School Aid
     2-16 to 2-19 New Articles of Note
     2-15-07 'Parents get boost on special ed rights' Star Ledger
     2-12-07 State School Aid - needed to offset property taxes now
     2-8-07 Editorial - ' Progress, Trenton style'
     2-1-07 Turnpike for sale, Gov - need funding formula, more
     1-23-07 Tax Reform in Trenton?
     1-9-07 Countywide Pilot Program and County 'Super' Superintendent bills held again yesterday, Jan 22 next probable vote date scheduled for these bills
     1-8-07 Articles & Editorial talk about 'missing pieces' of tax reform proposal and note consequences
     1-5-07 Small-town officials protest consolidation
     1-4-07 Gov Corzine & legislative leaders agree on 4% hard cap tied to sliding scale rebates (20% max on down)
     1-3-07 GSCS Member ALERT 'County School bills' fastracked again
     12-19-06 Feedback - articles on school funding heaings yesterday
     12-18-06 Sunday editorials - take of Property Tax session
     12-14-06 Trenton News articles
     11-15-06 The Special Session Jt Committee Reports
     11-19-06 Sunday Press Articles & Commentaries
     11-16-06 Property Tax Proposal news articles
     11-14-06 Direction of Special Session Report Recommendations starting to leak into press articles
     11-13-06 Schools, property taxes fuel debates
     11-11-06 New school funding plan could add $1 billion in aid
     11-10-06 NJ education chief vows urban support
     11-4-06 Senate President & Assembly Speaker 'no new taxes'
     11-1-06 Gannett 'Halved property tax called unrealistic'
     10-31-06 The Record - Property Tax Cut Debated
     10-30-06 NY Times
     10-21-06 Education Data Study Released - how the news is being reported
     10-20-06 Education - study data released
     10-5-06 Conversation on school funding, consolidation continues
     9-25-06 Savings Little -Costs at merged schools similar
     9-20-06 Coverage of the benefits & School Funding Jt Comm hearings 9-19-06
     9-18-06 News Articles re Special Session
     9-15-06 Star Ledger - 3.25B suggested for school construction
     9-7-06 The Record Local Govts Poised to save as co-pays rise
     9-7-06 News re Jt Comm on Consolidation & Shared Services mtg 9-5
     9-6-06 Articles re Jt Comm Hearing yesterday & related school news
     9-4-06 Weekend news articles of note
     8-29-06 School Funding to be reviewed today
     8-29-06 Assoc Press - School Funding to be reviewd today
     8-29-06 Hopewell Valley article re - courtesy busing withdrawal
     8-26-06 'N.J.'s best schools in wealthiest, northern towns'
     8-23-06 Crowd assails changes to state health plan
     8-23-06 Live from the Ledger on-line
     8-20-06 AP 'Property Tax reform bid to shift to overdrive'
     8-22-06 Star Ledger Column & NY Times Editorial
     8-14-06 News Clips
     8-9-06 Special Session Jt Comm on Consolidation of Govt Services meeting 8-8-06
     8-9-06 article re today's Jt Comm on Public Employee Benfits Reform
     8-8-06 NY Times Public Pension Plans Face Billions in Shortage
     7-25-06 Associated Press Prop Tax Q & A
     7-18-06 Live from the Ledger
     7-16-06 (thru 7-21-06) Bergen Record series investigate cost of NJ public services & property tax link
     7-16-06 Bergen Record series investigate cost of NJ public services & property tax link
     7-12-06 Column on State Budget legislator items
     7-12-06 Statehouse starts talking specifics about property tax reform
     7-13-06 Articles - Property tax issues, teacher salaries, voucher suit filing
     6-30-06 State Budget news - as the dissonance must be resolved
     6-29-06 Mirroring the elements, State Budget looking like a 'natural disaster'
     6-25-06 State Budget issues: legislative branches conflict - news articles
     6-21-06 Star Ledger - Washington DC Bureau re graduation rates & quality education
     6-20-06 News articles re State Budget FY07
     6-15-06 Star Ledger, Gannet articles- Abbott advocates demand school reform at educ. dept
     6-14-06 Assembly Minority Budget Leader Joe Malone's Op Ed
     Editorial on benefit of using UEZ surplus for spec educ aid for this year
     6-12-06 News Clips
     Weekend News Clips re Property Tax & School Funding issues
     6-9-06 Star Ledger ' Salary review bill hits roadblock'
     6-7-06 News Articles re Leg Summer Session work on Property Taxes
     6-6-06 Star Ledger re Special Summer Session
     6-5-06 Editorials on school funding & State Budget articles
     6-1-06 Star Ledger Thursday article on GSCS Annl Mtg
     5-30-06 News Articles
     5-21-06 Sunday Courier Post on Schools' hiring
     5-23-06 News Articles
     5-23-06 AP 'Codey to propose school ballott change'
     5-14-06N Y Times 'For school budgets the new word is NO'
     5-17-06 Trenton Times - School Aid, budget dominate forum
     5-16-06 News fromTrenton
     5-10-06 A Lot is going on - Major News fromTrenton
     News articles re even less state revenue & SCI scapegoating
     5-5-06 News articles Gannett and Courier Post
     One example of schools consolidating services
     4-16-06 Courier Post
     4-16-06 Star Ledger editorial & article re Gov v. Abbott from 4-15-06
     4-16-06 Sunday NY Times Metro Section, front page
     40-16-06 Gannett & Asbury Park Press on School Budget election issues
     4-13-06 'Budget cap puts NJ schools on edge'
     4-7-07 The Record
     3-31-06 AP 'Budget idea puts onus on income taxes, businesses'
     3-28-06 NY Times re Texas school finance case
     3-25-06 Press of Atlantic City
     3-29-06 News Articles on State Budget testimony before the Assembly Budget Comm. yesterday in Collingswood
     3-29-06 News Articles on State Budget testimony in Collingswood 3-28-06
     3-10-06 Star Ledger 'Time is ripe for poorer districts to contribute.
     3-22-06 News Article sampling on Governor's Proposed FY07 Budget
     3-19-06 Millville, Vineland may lose Abbott status
     3-19-06 Sunday News Articles on State Budget
     3-15-06 News articles on FY07
     3-15-06 NY Times 'Crisis at School Agency Reflects Missteps'
     3-10-06 News articles GSCS related issues
     3-7-06 More articles on the Gov's Budget Summit and School Board members fo to Trenton
     2-14-06 TrentonTimes Letter to the Editor on school construction
     2-11-06 Trenton Timesn'NJ State Budget has little wiggle room'
     2-9-06 Star Ledger School agency reformers discuss goals, problems
     2-10-06 Star Ledger editorial re void of credible & useful data at Department of Education
     FUNDING HISTORY - May 27 1998 - Education Week article re Abbott V - funding above parity
     1-26-06 New York Times article re public schools fundraising for private support
     1-25-06 Star Ledger 'School District's Woes Point to Rising Tax Resistance'
     1-24-06 Asbury Park Press 'Funding sparks heated debate'
     1-15-06 Sunday Star Ledger front page on Property Taxes
     1-12-06 Star Ledger 'Lawmaker pushes tax relief plan'
     1-12-06StarLedger 'Lawmaker pushes his tax relief plan'
     1-11-06 Star Ledger - Corzine Casts Wide Net for Cabinet
     1-6 thru 1-9-06 articles on Lameduck session and School Construction
     1-5-06 Monmouth county article on S1701 ramifications,examples - hitting hard at home
     1-1-06 Press of Atlantic City
     12-30-05 School Construction and Education Funding news clips
     12-20-05 Star Ledger on NJ Supreme Court decision on stalled school construction
     12-20-05 Star Ledger 'Schools lower the heat and risk a backlash'
     12-20-05 Star Ledger
     12-20-05 The Record 'Where Will the Bills End?' NJ Supreme Court releases its opinion on stalled school construction program.
     12-14-05 Asbury ParkPress Editorial 'Re-assess the ABC's of School Funding' notes the Governor's role is critical to make positive change
     12-16-05 Star Ledger Schools may end courtesy busing, tied to S1701 budget stressors
     12-16-05 News articles of note
     Trenton Times 6-25-05 State Budget FY06 and Democrat Tensions
     Activists Hope to Revive School Funding Issue
     12-15-05 Star Ledger School bond plans get resounding 'no'
     Time Magazine
     12-10-05 Star Ledger Schools might get heating help as bill gains on spending caps
     On Star Ledger
     12-8-05 Asbury Park Press Mom takes up the torch for school funding
     12-5-05 Governor-elect Corzine selects policy advisory groups
     11-28-05 Star Ledger 'It's Lame-duck time in Trenton'
     11-20-05 Sunday Star Ledger 'Corzine's risky promise to taxpayers
     The Record 11-18-05 Corzine's tax fix to mean 'pain'
     11-17-05 Trenton Times 'Education Chief announces testing overhaul'
     11-15-05 N Y Times article
     11-13-05 Star Ledger Sunday front page 'Blueprint for 6 Billion Dollar Boondagle
     11-14-05 The Record Herb Jackson on Whitman experience a lesson for Corzine
     11-11-05 Trenton Times Corzine puts property taxes at the top of his agenda
     11-9-05 The Record - Governor Elect can't claim a mandate
     Assoc. Press NJ 6-10-05 Codey Brokering Deal on Tax Convention
     Gubernatorial Candidates' Education Plans announced September 05
     November 9 The Trenton Times - Corzine Triumphs
     November 7 YOUR VOTE TOMORROW COUNTS ... Some news articles worth reading
     11-4-05 Star Ledger State Board of Education calls for revamping school funding
     10-23-05 Sunda Star Ledger article on how property taxes work
     10-4-05 Trenton Times NJ may replenish school building fund.
     10-16-05 Sunday Star Ledger & Gannet news articles on gubernatorial candidates take on important issues related to public education issues
     10-19-05 Courier Post-Gannett article on Gubernatorial Debate
     Groups Seek Attention from Candidates 10-12-05
     10-6-05 and 10-12-05 Forrester v. Corzine, Corzine v. Forrester articles
     10-4-05 Trenton Times School Construction fund may be replenished
     9-29-05 Star Ledger 'NJ in hole for $53M after vote on school funds promised for construction
     9-26-05 Star Ledger School Construction Making the Grade is Now Up to the Voters
     9-22-05 Some news articles on the press conference - Gannett and Star Ledger
     9-23-05 Star Ledger School Construction on next Tuesday's bond referenda
     9-12-05 Associated Press Rutgers initiates new education institute
     9-9-05 Trenton Times,Corzine Education Agenda
     9-9-05 Asbury Park Press Corzine plans 25M education agenda
     Star Ledger 9-9-05 Soaring gas costs result in towns asking for cap relief
     Star Ledger 8-31-05: Though few, new schools open doors for kids
     8-19-05 Head of School Construction Agency Resigns Abruptly, Compounding Agency Turmoil
     Trenton Times 8-12-05 School funding sought
     Star Ledger Front Page 8-16-02 School districts run for school construction aid
     Herb Jackson Column 7-18-05 Budget 'cuts' more a case of creative math
     Herb Jackson Column 7-18-05 Budget 'cuts' more a case of creative math
     The Record 'get's it' Read Editorial 7-14-05
     Star Ledger 7-13-05 Codey Puts Constitutional Convention on Hole
     The Record7-10-05 Sunday Front Page Must Read
     Star Ledger 7-7-05 Local school officials told state may not provide promised construction funding
     The Record 7-3-05 State Budget Doles Out Money
     The Record 7-4-05 Rebates safe, but tax problem not nearer solution
     The Check it out - Press of Atlantic City 7-6-05 Education Funds lie in Budget Fine Print
     Star Ledger 7-2-05 Late Night Budget Passes
     The Record 7-2-05 State Budget Passes
     Gannet 7-2-05 State Budget and School Aid
     Asbury Park Press 6-28-05 Senate Passes $20M for 5 school districts
     Philadelphia Inquirer 6-30-05 Dueling Budgets Will Miss Deadline
     Asbury Park Press 6-30-05 No Consensus in Trenton on Spending Plan
     Trenton Times 6-30-05 School Construction Review Panel Formed
     Star Ledger 6-30-05 State Budget Finale on Hold
     Star Ledger 6-29-05 Bid to Save Tax Rebates Imperils NJ Budget
     The Record 6-29-05 Tax Plan Quitely Dying
     Trenton Times 6-25-05 State Budget and Democrat Tensions
     Star Ledger 6-17-05 Seniors want tax convention, Senate prefers Special Session
     050618 Press of Atlantic City 'Activists Look to Revisit School Funding Issue
     6-16-05 Philadelphia Inquirer Commission Librera Releases Abbott Designation Report
     Star Ledger 6-4-05 GSCS Annual Meeting Forrester & Schundler
     Assoc. Press NJ 6-10-05 Codey Brokering Deal on Tax Convention
     Star Ledger 6-14-05 Legislators Assail School Building Agency at Hearing
     Star Ledger 6-13-05 Legislators Assail School Construction Corp
     Trenton Times 6-10-05 Rebate Debate on Budget for FY06
     Star Ledger June 3 2005 Advance article, Annual Meeting noted
     Gannet on Annual Meeting 6-4-05 Forrester, Schundler Address School Concerns
     Gannet on Annual Meeting 6-4-05 Candidates Address School Concerns
     Assocated Press, In the Homestrech Forrester and Schundler Talk Education
     Class Sizes Disappoint Glen Ridge Parents
     SCC reforms underway 'Jump Starting the Effort to build New Schools' Star Ledger May26 2005.
     Trenton Times 5-24-05 Codey Plans for Less Pain in Budget
     Preliminary School Election Results from NJ Dept of Education
     Jersey Journal article
     State Health Benefit Plan Star Ledger 4-8-05
     Taxes, ire both on rise
     NJ lawmakers want the state to join education law protest
     Panel Tells of Referenda Woes
     GSCS Parent Leader Molly Emiliani-Livingston & GSCS Director Lynne Strickland present to Pennsylvania Bucks County
     Hopewell valley School Board Approves $63M Budget
     Schools will seek Extra Funding
     Rebate Panic
     Lack of funds amid surplus of concerns
     Enrollment Dip Hurts Special Schools
     Costly School Site Fiasco Spurs Assembly Measure
     Teacher Seeks Family to Fight Abbott Rulings
     Panel OKs Constitutional Convention on Tax Reform
     Jersey Halts New Pacts for School Construction
     Schools Face Enrollment, Aid Dilemma
     Cut is sought in Abbott District Aid
     Local News - Cuts plentiful in NJ budget proposal
     Amid probe, agency to cut school costs
     Acting governor faces tough sledding on deficit
     Parents Give Cody an Earful
     Courier Post Online
     Article Mt Laurel GSCS Summit 2-10-05
     Bill to loosen school budgets altered
     WNBC Interview
     Educators urge parents to fight school spending cap
     Assembly Panel Weighs Plan for a Property Tax Convention
     Tax-reform debate takes sharp turn
     School funding plan gets OK from panel
     Legislature Acts to Revamp School Spending Caps
     Educators to Argue for Repeal of Cap Law
     State must devise tests to comply with No Child Left Behind
3-10-06 News articles GSCS related issues
Governor spoke to S1701 question at Monmouth Town Meeting; Column on Abbott districts contributing a fairer share of taxes to their school programs; School construction management changes; Assembly Education legislators disagree on Abbott mission,more

STAR LEDGER

Time is ripe for poorer districts to contribute

Friday, March 10, 2006 by Tom Moran

David Sciarra is a lefty lawyer whose mission in life is to help urban kids get a decent education.

And he's very good at it. For a decade or so, he's been beating the state over the head in court, forcing Trenton to send a flood of money to the poorest school districts, known as Abbotts.

That money has helped poor kids catch up to suburban kids on reading and math scores. Among fourth graders, the gap has been cut in half.

But these days, Sciarra is a nervous fellow.

Because while the urban schools have gotten more and more money, the suburban districts have not. Their basic aid has been virtually frozen since 2002, sending their property taxes soaring.

Sciarra knows that suburban legislators, the majority in New Jersey, won't let this go on forever. It is a political time bomb, and he wants to defuse it.

Which brings us to his surprising recommendation: Sciarra now believes that some of the healthier Abbott districts should lighten the state's load by raising their own property taxes. Hoboken, that yuppie haven, is only the most obvious case.

So now Sciarra, the man who brought billions of dollars to the cities, says some of them are making out a bit too well.

"If an Abbott district can contribute more funds because property values have gone up, they need to do so," Sciarra says. "We have to adjust."

The next move is up to Gov. Jon Corzine, who now faces a test of his political gumption.

He is traveling the state this week warning people to brace themselves for tough budget moves. Now we'll see if that includes some of the heavily Democratic Abbott districts.

Gordon MacInnes, the assistant education commissioner charged with running the Abbott programs, recommended recently that Corzine take the leap.

"There are a number of districts that can afford to raise their taxes," MacInnes says. "This is not a fair system now. I don't think it's sustainable over time. You may get to the stage where the Legislature just won't budge, and then you'll have a constitutional crisis."

But he knows it will be tough. It's been tried before.

In 2003, the state ordered 11 Abbott districts, including Newark and Elizabeth, to raise their taxes by a combined $26 million a year. A few days later, the McGreevey administration reversed the order.

"After they got a few phone calls, they folded," says MacInnes.

Corzine seems to be a more serious fellow. And the pressure to change has grown since 2003.

"This is a wound that gets worse every year," says Lynne Strickland, head of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, which represents more than 100 suburban districts.

Strickland and her coalition have been remarkably supportive of the Abbott programs over the years. But it's getting harder for her to hold that alliance together.

"Things have gotten better in a lot of Abbott districts," she says. "They need to contribute more. Fair is fair."

Even if it raises only a modest sum, she believes it would relieve the political pressure. The state could divert the savings to special education program in the suburbs.

Sciarra, who's with the Education Law Center, would take only a small step in this direction by requiring tax hikes in the five or six districts with tax burdens below the state average. And he is pushing for an increase in aid to all districts this year, against all odds.

If Corzine tries to freeze aid to the Abbott districts this year, as he may, you can expect that Sciarra will go back to court. That, he says, would shortchange the kids by forcing cutbacks in programs.

The tax argument concerns only who should pay the bills. And on that question, Sciarra is more flexible.

He doesn't represent Abbott district taxpayers, after all.

His clients are the kids.

Tom Moran's column appears Wednesdays and Fridays. He may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or (973) 392-1823.

 

 

N.J.'s imbalance sheet

Corzine gives grim statistics at Shore forum

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/9/06

BY MICHELLE SAHN
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

WEST LONG BRANCH — The state's use of one-time revenues to pay for recurring expenses is almost like "taking out a mortgage to buy this week's groceries,'' acting state Treasurer Bradley Abelow said.

Abelow and Gov. Corzine continued their public discussion of the state's "severe budget crisis'' Wednesday night in front of several hundred at Monmouth University. It was the second of three public mettings planned by Corzine before he presents his budget March 21. He has said the state is facing a $4.5 billion shortfall.

"We have a very big but very simple problem,'' Corzine said. "We spend more than we take in.''

On Wednesday, he said the state will look into buying generic drugs and prescription drugs in bulk for state Corrections Department inmates and other state programs, a move that could save the state millions.

On Tuesday, he warned that local schools and municipalities should not expect additional funding from the state this year.

Some 73 percent of the state's expenditures goes to state aid as well as grants for education and other programs at the county and local levels, Abelow said.

Abelow said the state's budget problems began in the late 1980s and continued under administrations of both political parties. In 1997, the state spent $16 billion, but in 2005 it spent $28 billion, he said.

Margaret Graf and Andrea Bakst, two school board members in Fair Haven, asked the governor about state law 1701, which forces districts to reduce surplus and give the balance to municipalities for property tax relief.

Corzine said that he will not ask for the repeal of that law but that exceptions for costs, such as energy, should be considered. He also suggested considering allowing districts to use reserve funds for capital improvements.

In Neptune, where officials expect to introduce a budget at the end of the month, Republican Mayor Thomas J. Catley said in a telephone interview that news of the state's financial outlook is disappointing. He said he hoped the governor would "turn his attention to slashing the bloated bureaucracy in Trenton.''

Catley said that not increasing state aid to municipalities will leave Neptune officials faced with the choice of cutting services or raising taxes. Neither is acceptable, he said.

"We depend on state aid to reduce the impact on our taxpayers,'' Catley said. "And obviously, if state aid is going to be frozen or reduced, we have to pass that along to our residents, who already feel they are already overtaxed.''

"We are looking at no increase in state aid to municipalities and no increase in state aid to public schools,'' Ocean County Freeholder Joseph Vicari said by phone. "If Trenton once again freezes aid to towns and school systems, it will amount to a tax increase on residents.''

Brick Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli said by phone that, like municipalities statewide, Brick will have to make difficult decisions. The most difficult, he said, will be how much the municipality should use from its surplus and how large the tax increase should be.

"After all is said and done, the burden is back on the town,'' Scarpelli said. "Pensions are up, gasoline and salaries are up, and because the state isn't helping to cover those costs, the burden is on the backs of Brick's residents.''

Tonight, Corzine will be at Rowan University in Glassboro to deliver his budget talk again.

Staff writers Naomi Mueller and Joseph Picard contributed to this story.

Schools construction agency headed for more change Asbury Park Press on 03/10/06

BY GREGORY J. VOLPE
GANNETT STATE BUREAU

TRENTON — More turnover is coming at the embattled state Schools Construction Corp., as the man holding two key posts Thursday announced his retirement.

Peter E. Maricondo, hired as the agency's first chief financial officer last May, who's been acting chief executive officer since the last CEO quit in September, said he will leave in April for health and personal reasons.

Scott Weiner, Gov. Jon S. Corzine's special counsel overseeing the agency, will take over Monday as temporary CEO, while the agency searches for a new finance officer and chief executive.

Maricondo came to the agency last spring with a new board chairman, Alfred C. Koeppe, shortly after state Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper blasted the agency in a report for waste and inefficiency in spending nearly all of its original $8.6 billion.

"(Maricondo) was faced with having to build a financial control organization where one had not existed," said Barry Zubrow, who took over as SCC chairman last month. "I think he has done a terrific job at getting that job started. We all recognize that we still have a lot more to do."

David Sciarra, director of the Education Law Center, a group that represents children in the 31 districts covered by the Abbott vs. Burke funding-equity case, said Maricondo did a good job but that the SCC's problem is with several department heads who remain.

"Here's a complete failure in management," Sciarra said. "What needs to happen is we need a whole new management team."

The SCC also announced the state attorney general will no longer have a seat on its board because that conflicts with the office's investigatory task. In January, Cooper released another report saying there may have been criminal activity in the agency's dealings.

Zubrow said Corzine wanted the change and is not an indication Attorney General Zulima Farber's office is jumping on Cooper's latest report.

"We're already acting on the inspector general's report," Zubrow said. "They're unrelated. It's rather a matter of good authority governance and to make it clear that (Farber's) first priority is to make sure she is watching over the agency."

Sciarra called it a good first step but said the agency has to stop using the Attorney General's Office as counsel so it can "be the watchdog over this agency and be responsible for overall accountability."

David Wald, spokesman for Farber, said the office provides counsel to several agencies.

"There's no conflict here," Wald said. "It does not interfere with her charge to closely monitor what goes on at the SCC."

SCC officials gave conflicting answers whether next week's report by a group of education, treasury and school construction officials to the governor will recommend when the school construction program should be re-funded.

Weiner said "it's an issue being discussed," but Zubrow said there will be no timelines.

"The report will set out a number of predicates to occur before (Corzine will) be comfortable doing that."

Officials estimate it would cost $12 billion to complete projects in Abbott districts in today's dollars. Since September, voters in 35 non-Abbott districts have approved projects eligible for $163.9 million in state grants.

Next Tuesday, four districts will hold elections on $45 million worth of projects eligible for $16 million in state grants — the smallest statewide totals since school referendums were limited to five days per year in 2001.

"March is traditionally a quiet month for referendums, but we've never seen it this quiet," New Jersey School Boards Association spokesman Mike Yaple said.

 

Legislators spar over Abbott schools' mission

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/10/06

BY MICHAEL SYMONS

GANNETT STATE BUREAU

TRENTON — Assembly members sparred a bit Thursday over one of the most pressing educational and fiscal issues facing the state, its investment in the Abbott school districts, at a hearing of the Assembly Education Committee.

David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center, the nonprofit Newark-based organization that sued the state to force increased funding for urban schools, said the programs installed in the last five years have made an impact in reversing decades of neglect but will require time to work.

"Really at the end of the day, you as state legislators need to be seeing this as the biggest investment we can make in our cities," Sciarra said. "This is really about community revitalization of urban areas and making our cities economically competitive, better places to live."

"Respectfully ... no, Abbott is about education of children. The Abbott program needs to be about making sure kids can read and write and get jobs. The Abbott program is not there as a bootstrap program to solve every problem in urban New Jersey," said Assemblyman Bill Baroni Jr., R—Mercer.

"I totally disagree," said Assemblywoman Nellie Pou, D—Passaic, before the debate was cut short by committee chairman Assemblyman Craig Stanley, D-Essex.

 

"What's good for the kids of our state is good for our state," Stanley said. "That's why we have a constitutional obligation to education them, and we have to do that. Thank God we have a constitution and a Supreme Court that was willing to step up to the plate and say we have to do better."

The Education Law Center says preschool enrollment in Abbott districts is now over 40,000, or 78 percent of the eligible population. That's more than doubled in six years, but it's short of the 90 percent goal set by the state.

Other beneficial changes include better-qualified teachers and smaller class sizes, each of which was mandated by the court, and higher marks on standardized tests among elementary-school students.

But middle- and high-school students have shown less progress, and there are wide shortages of court-ordered supplemental staff, such as parent liaisons, tutors and dropout prevention officers. The DOE still hasn't created a student-level database, which would be able to track students as they move from one city to another.

School building panel CEO quits as audit details waste

Report questions 'high' fees to project management firms

Friday, March 10, 2006

BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL

Star-Ledger Staff

Change and charges of waste continue to plague New Jersey's Schools Construction Corp.

The latest chapter played out yesterday when the acting chief executive officer stepped down at the agency's monthly meeting and the state auditor raised questions about hundreds of millions of dollars in agency expenditures.

The auditor's critical report on the agency's first three years of operations added new detail to allegations of mismanagement and waste that had been outlined in earlier outside reviews of the agency.

In particular, the auditor questioned hundreds of millions of dollars in payments to 12 major construction companies that were hired to oversee the $6billion building program as project management firms.

The firms have been paid $283million of the $540million they are scheduled to collect under contracts that award them fees worth 11 percent of the work they oversee.

The auditor said those fees have been inflated by various factors, and the 11 percent rate "seems high" when compared with the 3 percent construction industry standard for project managers. Even accounting for additional tasks the state assigns to its PMFs, the auditor says, the fee should be no more than 7 percent.

Applying that 7 percent rate to the PMF contracts would reduce their costs by $199million.

In addition, the auditor questioned "mark-ups" of up to 192 percent for benefits, indirect costs and profits that the private firms add onto the salary charges they bill to the state.

While the SCC and its project management firms pay comparable salaries, the audit said, "the $182million staffing costs for the 14 PMF contracts reviewed exceeded the comparable costs of the corporation's staff (including benefits) by $59million -- or 48 percent."

In other areas, the auditor questioned why the SCC replaced a construction cost limit of $143million that was set by the Legislature with its own $218-per-square-foot standard -- and further noted that even that higher limit was largely ignored.

One school addition, for instance, cost $621 per square foot to erect, the auditor noted.

The auditor also cited millions of dollars wasted because of a "Fastrack" policy adopted to speed the construction of new schools in the needy communities. Under Fastrack, various project steps like land acquisition, design and site development were undertaken simultaneously to compress the time required for building a school by 20 months.

"Although the Fastrack Approach may have its theoretical benefits, its implementation on the corporation's projects was not successful because there were too many uncontrollable variables associated with the initial phases of the project which resulted in additional costs to the project," the auditor noted.

Ultimately, the Fastrack approach resulted in wasted design and construction costs of $65million to $105million, and led to the spending of another $90million on projects that have been suspended or canceled, the report notes.

In responses filed with the audit, SCC officials said they have stopped using Fastrack. They also said they are reviewing PMF payments and contract terms, and will seek refunds for any payments deemed inappropriate.

The auditor's review is the latest to find deep problems in SCC management and oversight.

Last year, after a Star-Ledger analysis that found the SCC's building costs were 45 percent higher than costs for other New Jersey school projects, the state inspector general reviewed the agency and found management problems that left the program open to "waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars."

Overseeing the agency beginning Monday will be Scott Weiner, a former state environmental commissioner who was named special counsel to the schools corporation by Gov. Jon Corzine a month ago. Weiner will be the agency's fourth CEO in just over three years.

The current chief, Peter Maricondo, is retiring about six months after he was named acting CEO upon the resignation of his predecessor, Jack Spencer.

Spencer's departure last September capped a turbulent year at the agency, in which officials announced they had allocated the entire $6billion that lawmakers authorized them to spend on a court-ordered makeover of decrepit public schools, even though hundreds of school projects remained unbuilt.

Maricondo was brought in to be the SCC's first chief financial officer last year as part of a sweeping overhaul by former Gov. Richard Codey. He is credited with setting realistic budgets and accounting standards for the 100 projects still in the works.

"We made some good progress," he said yesterday. "I just feel that this point in time is an appropriate time to retire."

Since his appointment to the board in February, Weiner has been working on a report scheduled to be delivered to Corzine next Wednesday on options for changing operations at the corporation.

Weiner said the agency hopes to complete an ongoing search for a permanent chief executive within several months.

Dunstan McNichol covers state government issues. He may be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609) 989-0341.