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Assembly Budget Chairman Louis Greenwald and Committee members were lukewarm to considering additional funding for schools - GSCS noted that special education funding remains flat since FY02 even though an additional 17,000 students have been classified since then - in general, as well as municipalities and even colleges[hit w/a $169M cut in Gov Corzine's proposed budget]. The main struggle that will ensue on this FY07 budget is going to be between the Governor's office and the legislature on raising taxes..... As for schools, the Assembly representatives were posing the SCI report that focused on 71 districts' administrator salary packages and the SCC school construction investigations as a shield against considering local needs of public school children or property tax relief. While both of these issues raise very legitimate concerns that need addressing now, not only at the local level but more effectively at the state level, the issues should not function as a way for Trenton deflect reality.....The context is this: if the FY07 budget does not provide formula aid for *regular operating districts, FY07 will be the six straight year that Trenton chooses not to update basic formula aid to support public education fiscal & student needs in nearly 550 communities[*excludes Abbotts, and others not applicable, such as non-operating districts, county vocationals]....Enrollment has grown over these years; property taxes have risen dramatically since aid has been suppressed over this time frame, and in effect, reflect the indirect "tax" local communities face in having to support mandated programs, including maintaining the constitutionally required "thorough and efficient" education for their students, when the state does not provide its share of support. We ask our state leaders - will you address the cost drivers that are well outpacing budget caps, such as health benefits and special education, by devising new policies that could help control the annual growth of the costs? (see sidebar/'School Funding Facts, etc.' GSCS chart on local levy growth FY02-FY06 in reg. operating districts v. special education and health benefits costs in the same time frame that shows that nearly 2/3 of the levy growth of 2.4B is taken up by those costs alone.)
N.J. tuition outlook bleak
By ALAN GUENTHER
Courier-Post Staff
Tuition would soar 30 percent if state colleges handed students the bill for the entire $170 million in cuts the governor is proposing for higher education, Rowan University President Donald Farish said Tuesday.
"It is difficult to overstate the negative consequences of these cuts," Farish told the Assembly Budget Committee during the first public hearing on Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposed $30.9 billion budget.
Farish said colleges cannot -- "and will not" -- rely solely on tuition to make ends meet. Other ways to cope must be found, but how, he asked.
Faculty layoffs? Elimination of popular classes? A tuition hike in double digits?
While painting a dire picture, Farish also said college administrators recently received their first glimmer of hope since Corzine unveiled his budget last week.
In a private meeting with the state's college presidents Monday night, Corzine promised he would make higher education a top priority for restoring funds -- but only if more revenue can be found, Farish said.
Meeting in the sumptuously redecorated Collingswood Theater, the former Scottish Rite Auditorium, mayors and teachers pleaded for more money for local towns and schools during the daylong budget public hearing.
Property taxes will continue to climb rapidly if state aid is not increased, half a dozen local officials predicted.
Corzine's proposal would increase the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent. A final form of the budget must be adopted before July 1.
Late in the afternoon, three South Jersey teenagers came away empty-handed in their effort to save The Governor's School of New Jersey, a summer program serving 600 of the state's best high school students.
"My hard work paid off when I found out I was selected as one of 30 finalists out of 300 theater applicants," Anni Weisband, 17, of
But her elation died when, three days before her final audition, she was told there would be no governor's school this year.
"I'm beyond disappointed," Weisband said.
Ted Kreider of Moorestown and Ben Speilberg of
The best the Legislature can do is restore the money for next year, said Elaine Tryjankowski, executive director of the governor's school. This summer will mark the first time the state won't offer the program for its best students since 1984, she said.
Assembly Budget Chairman Louis Greenwald, D-Voorhees, challenged administrators and officials who favored more spending on public education to explain abuses uncovered in a recent report by the state Commission of Investigation.
The SCI report studied 71 school districts. All but three had abused the state pension system, Greenwald said.
School administrators earning more than $200,000 per year padded their pensions, and were given cars to drive and clothes to wear while handing the bill to the public, the SCI report found.
Greenwald also reiterated his reluctance to raise taxes and the need for property-tax relief.
"You would have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not hear the cry of the public, which is that the No. 1 issue in the state of
Gannett State Bureau reporter Jonathan Tamari contributed to this story. Reach Alan Guenther at (856) 317-7871 or aguenther@courierpostonline.com
Published: March 29. 2006 3:00AM
Posted on Wed, Mar. 29, 2006 |
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Gov. Corzine's proposed cuts in funding could translate into college tuition increases as high as 30 percent, higher-education officials told an Assembly committee in Farish pledged that Rowan would find places other than just tuition to make up the shortfall, but beseeched lawmakers to reinstate the funding before the state budget is finalized in June. "Tuition is going to go up. We just don't know the amount yet," Farish said, adding that The $30.9 billion state budget that Corzine introduced last week includes $169 million in cuts to state college and university funding as well as increases in sales and cigarette taxes. He also plans to cut funding to municipalities and 1,000 nonunion state jobs. The freshman governor said last week that a financial scandal at the Farish said he and other university officials believed UMDNJ's situation was "totally unique." "We have never leased a limousine, but to the extent they have concerns about our level of accountability, we have no secrets," he said. Corzine met with Farish and 10 state college and university presidents Monday night at the governor's mansion in But Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Louis Greenwald (D., "I think it is unfair to suggest higher education is weighed more heavily than a child with autism or programs for the blind," Greenwald said. He said he also did not support Corzine's proposal to increase the sales tax from 6 to 7 percent. His committee, he said, will search for "cuts and efficiencies" to try to make up the additional $1.4 billion the higher sales tax would generate. Mayors, school board officials, business leaders, and other interest groups had signed up to testify yesterday at the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, where Greenwald's committee held its first budget hearing. While most speakers expressed disappointment with Corzine's budget, college and university administrators, professors and students warned of significant consequences. Sharo Atmeh, a junior at "If our cuts were covered solely by tuition increases, the price of a Contact staff writer Kaitlin Gurney at 609-989-7373 or kgurney@phillynews.com. |
Lawmakers list budget grievances at hearing
Corzine focuses on college aid
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/29/06
BY JONATHAN TAMARI
But at a hearing in South Jersey on the budget, lawmakers also listed property tax relief and averting Corzine's proposed sales tax increases as other worthy goals Tuesday as they began their budget deliberations. They left open the question of how the final spending plan will look if the state finds additional money through cuts or better-than-expected tax revenue.
"I believe (in) making sure that the offer of quality education for every young person who wants to go to college is as available as possible," Corzine told reporters, calling aid to colleges "the first place where I would go" if the state's financial picture improves.
Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Camden, chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, noted the importance of higher education but also reiterated his reluctance to raise taxes and the need for property tax relief.
"You would have to be deaf, dumb and blind to not hear the cry of the public, which is that the No. 1 issue in the state of New Jersey is property taxes, and if you're not giving (additional revenue) back to the people, then we're not listening," Greenwald said.
He said any money set aside for property tax rebates now should be "in a vault" and not diverted to other uses so funds are available when long-term property tax solutions are proposed.
Greenwald, however, would not say if increased rebates, averting tax hikes or other initiatives would be his top priority this year if additional resources are found.
Assemblyman Joseph Malone, R-Burlington, the Republican budget officer, said lawmakers have to find a way to both eliminate Corzine's $1.5 billion in tax increases and restore funding to colleges.
"Nothing's impossible if we really want to sit down and do it," Malone said.
Last year, the state reported $1.5 billion in unexpected revenue after the budget was introduced, helping lawmakers fight off some tax increases and budget cuts. Many hope for a similar windfall this year. College presidents in particular are hoping to undo a proposed $169 million cut in state aid to their budgets, but they are one of many groups expected to testify in the fight for more funding.
"I don't know that you ever look at things where, if money is tight, that one group is made completely whole so that the others can continue to suffer," Greenwald said. "I think you try to alleviate the burden across the board if you can."
He said any changes in the budget Corzine proposed will be weighed for their far-reaching costs and benefits.
"This is the toughest year we've ever had," in terms of budgeting, Farish told reporters after testifying.
But he said he was "cautiously optimistic" that some of the cuts may be avoided after 11 college presidents met with Corzine Monday night, "although it's clear that we will still be looking at a significant deficit."
"Tuition is going to go up, we just don't know the amount," Farish said.
Farish said the college presidents had a "good, cordial, frank conversation" with Corzine and believe he intends to restore some funding, but he doubted they would get all of the cuts back.
Lawmakers, sitting at the first public budget hearing since Corzine introduced his plan March 21, also heard from advocates for schools and municipalities who worried that flat state aid could lead to increased property taxes.
Democrats and Republicans called on school boards and municipalities to help find savings through consolidation and better management and cited the need to control the cost of public workers' pensions and health benefits.
Several lawmakers used recent reports detailing money wasted by the Schools Construction Corp. and inflated school administrator salaries to hammer anyone seeking additional school aid.
"This kind of thing has to end," said Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union.
Jonathan Tamari:
jtamari@gannett.com
Budget time, and the giving is iffy
Pleas for increased aid get a cool response from lawmakers trying to avert tax hikes
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL
Star-Ledger Staff
State lawmakers hoping to avoid a proposed sales tax increase gave a bristly reception to lobbyists and local officials who came to them yesterday with requests for almost a half-billion dollars in additional state aid.
It was the opening public hearing on the proposed 2006-2007 state budget, and members of the Assembly Budget Committee were not in a generous mood.
"I'm losing my sympathy for this," Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-Union) said to officials from the Keansburg School District, who were seeking $60 million for construction of three schools they were promised five years ago.
Cryan and committee chairman Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) questioned why Keansburg needed three separate school buildings when the district's 2,500 students could be accommodated in one larger building, and even suggested the 1.2 square-mile town might be better off merging with neighboring
"If the need is there, we have to find a way to meet it," said Greenwald. "But at the same time, there has to be proper planning."
A similar tone characterized Greenwald's exchanges with advocates for other needy school districts seeking an additional $300 million in state school aid, and with the 12 university professors, administrators, students and union officials who objected to proposed higher education cuts of $169 million.
The committee heard more than eight hours of testimony on how Gov. Jon Corzine's $30.9 billion budget plan would affect education and local municipalities. The hearing in
During a brief break in the hearing, Greenwald told reporters he is still optimistic that income tax returns on April 15 will prove higher than expected, allowing lawmakers to cancel some of Corzine's more contentious proposals. They include increasing the sales tax to 7 percent to raise $1.1 billion, and boosting cigarette taxes to $2.75 per pack to raise $80 million.
Yesterday's hearing brought an outpouring of complaints about Corzine's proposed cuts in higher education aid -- which the governor has said he would like to restore if revenues improve.
Greenwald repeatedly expressed frustration at the general threats by college administrators of hefty tuition increases, mass layoffs and sweeping class cancellations if the cuts go through.
"It reminds me of the school board elections where they say if the budget is defeated they'll cut the band and the teachers," Greenwald said. "I need people to go back and get us hard answers."
Greenwald took issue with Zaharati Morfesis, an adjunct professor and shop steward at
"There is no doubt this is a difficult time," Greenwald replied. "To suggest, however, we are going to rip out the roots of the children of this state ..."
The lawmakers did offer sympathetic ears to requests from some constituents. Lawrence Ragone, president of the
"It's cut every year, and every year it's the responsibility of the Legislature to put it back in," Greenwald said.
Most others seeking heftier infusions of public funding, however, met a cooler reception.
Greenwald and other committee members repeatedly slapped local school officials for demanding millions of dollars in additional state aid while failing to confront evidence of nepotism, over-generous compensation and retirement packages for top administrators, and other allegations of waste.
"We are very, very unhappy," Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester), told the lobbyist for the New Jersey Association of School Business Administrators.
Greenwald was similarly skeptical about suggestions that the budget should include more funds for needy school districts, including the 31 scheduled to receive billions under the state Supreme Court's Abbott vs. Burke school funding decision.
"I come back to $250 million in the city of
Dunstan McNichol covers state government issues. He may be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609) 989-0341