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
6-29-06 Mirroring the elements, State Budget looking like a 'natural disaster'
Related latest articles & columns, representative of what's going on - and what's not - in Trenton (GSCS has been a daily observer of the process) to resolve the state budget for Fiscal Year 2007. With the Governor threatening to eliminate 500M in "basic school aid" and 300M in municipal aid if legilislators don't pass a budget that includes his 1 cent sale tax hike, the pressure is being felt all around. Legislators on both sides of the aisle and in both the Senate & Assembly meanwhile are looking to provide a link between any tax increase to property tax relief. GSCS and legislators have noted that bringing special education 'extraordinary aid' towards its statutory promise is an effective way to do that - a good faith demonstration to local taxpayers as well as public education students, no matter where they reside, that Trenton 'get's it' and is trying to help alleviate competing program needs v. rising property taxes.

Tensions mount as state budget battle gets ugly

Corzine vows to shut down government if talks remain stalled

Thursday, June 29, 2006

BY JEFF WHELAN AND JOE DONOHUE

Star-Ledger Staff

New Jersey's budget battle turned bizarre yesterday as Assembly Democrats staged what amounted to a six-hour Statehouse sit-in, lawmakers openly cursed each other and the budget committee chairman tried to haul the treasurer before the panel to explain why Gov. Jon Corzine doesn't like their alternative spending plan.

By day's end, New Jersey inched closer to a state government shutdown as the budget stalemate between Corzine and Assembly Democrats continued. Despite the Assembly Budget Committee chairman's prediction that his panel would approve a spending plan that does not include a sales tax increase, no action was taken.

Committee members who vowed to stay until midnight for Treasurer Bradley Abelow to show up went home at 5:30 p.m. after Corzine declared a state of emergency because of Delaware River flooding and closed the Statehouse annex.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris) said after his Republican members had been kept waiting near the committee room for four hours yesterday. "It's deplorable. It's obscene that the people right outside are in a crisis situation, and we don't know what the hell is going on."

While budget fights in Trenton often hit their peak just before the July 1 constitutional deadline, yesterday's actions added some new drama to an already heated debate between Corzine and Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden).

Assembly Budget Committee chairman Louis Greenwald (D-Camden) dispatched a Sergeant-at-Arms in a failed attempt to force Abelow to testify. At the same time, Roberts temporarily replaced a lawmaker on the budget committee in what one Assembly Democrat said was an attempt to pick up a vote.

Corzine said he was prepared to shut down state government operations if budget negotiations remained stalled and the Legislature failed to meet a midnight Friday deadline to deliver him a state budget. Corzine once again insisted a sales tax increase from 6 percent to 7 percent is necessary to balance the state budget. Assembly Democrats refused to back down in their opposition to the hike.

"We will end up phasing down the operations of the state until people come to their senses," Corzine said.

On Tuesday, Greenwald boldly predicted Assembly Democrats would win passage of their alternative to Corzine's budget in the budget committee. Corzine personally called committee members to urge them to vote against the Assembly Democrat's plans, and on Tuesday night threatened to veto a budget that didn't include the sales tax.

In a packed committee room, Greenwald opened the meeting by reading aloud newspaper headlines about the governor's veto threat. The chairman announced he was pulling the bills from consideration because the panel "worked too hard for this committee to be engaged in a worthless academic exercise."

He then sent the Sergeant-at-Arms to find Abelow, saying the governor "has some explaining to do." He said he would wait "as long as it takes."

"We need the treasurer to explain the governor's budget and the scope of the veto ultimatum that has been delivered for the first time," he said.

After Greenwald finished, Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-Union), a Corzine ally and the state Democratic chairman, reacted with surprise in an angry, profanity-laced outburst. Assemblyman William Payne (D-Essex), the vice chairman of the committee, later said he would have voted against the plan, too.

"If it comes up for a vote today, I cannot vote for it," he said.

Corzine, in a Trenton neighborhood to announce plans for dealing with the flood, expressed frustration with the Assembly Budget Committee's actions.

"I think the public expects us to be thoughtful," he said. "I don't think a lot of hooting and hollering is going to get to the right response. ... I'd rather get to a solution than get to a fight."

He questioned whether the Assembly's attempts to haul in his treasurer violated separation of powers under the state constitution.

"My treasurer has been made available over and over again now doing things on the spur of the moment, which is by the way, one of the major problems we have in this whole budgetary process. This is the 98th day -- 98th day since we submitted a budget. Of course, in a systematic and thoughtful way that is respectful of the separation of powers, we are more than happy to have the treasurer speak ... we're more than willing to talk to anybody."

Roberts defended the Assembly Budget Committee's actions.

"There was just a constructive effort to have some information provided by the treasurer. I wouldn't characterize it as an overreaction at all," he said.

There are eight Democrats on the 12-member committee, and opposition from Cryan and Payne raised questions about whether Greenwald had the votes he needed.

Roberts substituted former speaker Albio Sires (D-Hudson), a close ally, for Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-Hudson) on the committee after she did not show up in Trenton.

Quigley (D-Hudson) said she missed the potential budget vote because she woke up ill yesterday. "I didn't feel well so I stayed in bed," she said. "I felt bad -- physically and about not being there."

Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny (D-Hudson), a Corzine ally who is also Hudson County's Democratic Chairman, said he ordered her to come to Trenton in the event of a vote and said he would ask Roberts to reinstate her on the committee.

Roberts sidestepped a question about whether Assembly Democrats had the votes to pass the measures. Roberts has said he would only accept a sales tax if every penny of it went toward property tax reform. One Assembly Democrat who requested anonymity said Greenwald could have used parliamentary maneuvers to get the budget plan approved in his committee, but changed strategies after Corzine's veto threat.

Corzine continued his criticism of the one major element of the Assembly plan: a $370 million increase in the state disability tax on wages. Corzine said it amounted to an income tax hike on those who make more than $24,000. He said a married couple with two working spouses earning $50,000 per year each would pay more under that plan than the $250 increase they would face under his proposed sales tax hike.

Greenwald has said for a person earning the median income of $33,000 per year, the payroll tax would amount to $38 per year.

Roberts met with Corzine in the governor's office early last evening, but there was no agreement.

"We're all working very hard to try and find common ground and get the job done," he said. He said there are no meetings planned for today and that Assembly leaders would make a decision this morning about whether to proceed with a voting session for the full house Friday.

Staff writers Dunstan McNichol and Josh Margolin contributed to this report.

 

 

A storm at Statehouse, a demand on budget

Thursday, June 29, 2006

BY DEBORAH HOWLETT

Star-Ledger Staff

As the muddy Delaware River spilled over its banks behind the Statehouse yesterday, a different sort of drama played out high above the rising waters in the Assembly Budget Committee's fourth floor hearing room.

Rushing into the packed room more than an hour late, Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D-Camden), the committee chairman, offered an apology and blamed his tardiness on flood-closed roads.

"The weather was troublesome for all of us this morning," Greenwald said, gaveling the meeting to order. "You can see the impact that government can have on our lives as we try to rush through the natural disaster that is happening all around the capital."

Then he opened the political floodgates.

Greenwald demanded that state Treasurer Bradley Abelow come before the committee to explain why Gov. Jon Corzine had promised to veto a budget -- including the one proposed by Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts -- that did not include a sales tax hike or a viable alternative.

The chairman announced the committee would stand idle until Abelow showed up. He dispatched the Assembly's Sergeant-at-Arms to summon the treasurer.

"I am prepared to wait for as long as it takes," Greenwald told the stunned room. "We expect that it will be an exciting and fun-filled afternoon."

Exciting it was, for a moment: Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union) approached Greenwald at the back of the room, poked a finger in his chest and unleashed a string of profanities before Assemblyman Albio Sires (D-Hudson) stepped between them and hustled a red-faced Cryan off to the side.

For those who remained in the committee room, that was the last excitement of the day. They were left to stare out the window, watch the river below rise inch-by-inch and lamely joke about the confluence of politics and nature.

"I guess we're going to get a budget come hell or high water," quipped Mike Murphy, one of a score of lobbyists with little to do but kill time playing BrickBreaker on their Blackberries.

Most of the day's action happened outside the committee hearing room.

Within minutes of Greenwald's decree, the Assembly's burly Sergeant-at-Arms, Patrick DiLorenzo, was in the treasurer's office. Abelow was not there, he was told, he was down the hall meeting with the governor.

DiLorenzo then stopped by the governor's office, but was told by a state trooper on duty that the treasurer would not be forthcoming.

DiLorenzo is an imposing guy, and staffers in the Treasurer's office were a bit intimidated when he came calling for their boss, according to one observer. But DiLorenzo described his visit as low-key. "I left a message," he said. "I was just doing what I was asked to do to move the process along."

Meanwhile, in the committee room, the swollen river played havoc with the air conditioning and left the dwindling crowd to swelter.

With flood water pouring into the ground floor of the parking garage and encroaching on the lower levels of the Statehouse and Annex, the cafeteria was closed and some of the legislative staff moved equipment off the floor, just in case.

While Roberts met with Senate President Richard Codey in the Statehouse, the Budget Committee had lunch brought in -- soggy hoagies and diet Coke -- and hunkered down in the back room.

Assembly majority spokesman Derek Roseman killed a little time counting the ornate plaster ceiling tiles in the committee room. For the record, he said, there are 399. Another legislative staffer offered a rendition of the day's theme song: The Rolling Stones' "Time Is On My Side."

At about 2 p.m., the governor released state workers early because of the impending flood. A group of state worker union representatives, in distinctive purple shirts, quickly departed the committee room.

A half hour later, lobbyists for the New Jersey Education Association began taking $2 bets in a pool to guess when the budget would finally be adopted. Early predictions ranged from an optimistic 6:45 p.m. Friday to noon on July 3.

Corzine meanwhile was receiving a steady stream of guests in his Statehouse office.

First he conferred with Senate President Richard Codey and with Cryan, who is the Democratic state party chairman.

Then he met with Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce and three other Republican leaders. DeCroce insisted the meeting was mainly about contingency plans related to the flood, but did concede that Abelow was in the meeting and there was "some discussion" of budget matters.

As the Republicans milled about in the hallway after their meeting, Roberts walked briskly past and ducked into the governor's office. He emerged 40 minutes later.

Asked how long Democrats were prepared to wait for Abelow to appear before the budget committee, Roberts said he was going to discuss that with Greenwald.

Less than an hour later -- six hours after he had gaveled the committee into session -- Greenwald walked into the hearing room, now nearly empty, collected some papers from his desk and slipped out the back door.

The governor had just declared a state of emergency because of the flood, aides explained, and the committee was forced to recess.

Outside, the Delaware River continued to rise.

Staff writer Dunstan McNichol contributed to this story.

 

 

Natural, unnatural forces hit Trenton
Thursday, June 29, 2006






Legislators' budget negotiations turned surreal Wednesday, with finger-in-the-face theatrics, a standoff between a Cabinet member and a sergeant-at-arms, faulty air conditioning and the specter of epic flooding on the cusp of a government shutdown.

Officials in Trenton historically spend this week working well after dark on a budget whose deadline is imposed by the state constitution. Wednesday was different: They were leaving the State House at 6 p.m., not certain whether the building will be accessible this morning.

Equally uncertain were the fates of two proposed New Jersey state budgets: Governor Corzine's $30.9 billion version, which includes a plan to raise the sales tax by 1 cent, and another from Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, D-Camden, whose $30.4 billion alternative doesn't include a sales tax hike.

Without a budget in place by Saturday, Corzine intends to shut down non-essential government services. At the same time, parts of the state are virtually guaranteed to be disaster areas. After nearly a week of rain, more than 1,000 people were evacuated from Trenton neighborhoods, and so were dozens more in northern towns along the Delaware.

Corzine declared a state of emergency throughout the state, and meteorologists said the worst will come today and Friday. The governor did not address whether the situation would affect the budget dispute, saying only that the state has "contingencies" in place.

State workers were sent home starting at the Department of Education at Riverfront Plaza, which runs along some 400 feet of the Delaware. At the same time, the city closed stretches of Route 29, and state workers dismissed in shifts throughout the day found themselves idling in a jam of fire engines, NJ Transit buses and fellow commuters looking for alternates to closed thoroughfares.

In a news conference Wednesday, Corzine reiterated that his proposed sales-tax hike must remain in the budget. He had little interest in discussing alternatives. "It needs to be without substantial gimmicks," he said.

He also wasn't so interested in negotiating compromises. "There's been a lot of compromise already," Corzine said. "To say we haven't been willing to freely negotiate is just wrong," he said.

He would not consider alternatives devised by the Assembly Democrats "unless it is a responsible way of bringing in recurring revenues."

If the scene Wednesday is an indicator, anyone showing up at the State House for the rest of the week should pack a suit of armor and a life preserver.

The most volatile scene played out in late morning during a meeting of the Assembly Budget Committee, which had the power to introduce Roberts' 300-page budget. Chairman Louis D. Greenwald, D-Camden, said he was incensed by Corzine's disclosure, during a radio interview Tuesday night, that he would veto any alternative budget that does not include a sales tax increase.

"The governor's surprise announcement has changed the dynamic," Greenwald said. "I think the administration has some explaining to do."

He said he had dispatched a sergeant-at-arms to bring in state Treasurer Bradley Abelow, and he would hold up proceedings until Abelow could be questioned. With that, the audience of 100 lobbyists, legislative staffers and reporters erupted in loud chatter -- and a supporter of the Corzine budget, Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union, jumped from his seat and hurtled toward Greenwald.

Cryan waved his finger in Greenwald's face, grabbed his shoulder and unleashed a profanity-laced tirade. Greenwald refused to look at him, and Assemblyman Albio Sires, D-West New York, escorted Cryan to a rear room.

Greenwald then chastised the crowd, saying, "This is not a party." If people continued to talk, he said, they would be escorted out of the hearing room by state police.

"Please remain calm," Greenwald said.

Abelow never showed up; his staff later said he was preoccupied with flooding issues and preparations for a possible state shutdown.

For the seven hours intervening, key Democrats went office to office, presumably to negotiate. About 6 p.m., a top legislative aide said Greenwald was prepared to wait for him until midnight. But moments later, Greenwald himself sent the legislators home and headed out of Trenton.

"They declared an emergency," Greenwald explained. "There's a crisis."

Corzine and Abelow were busy dealing with the rising floodwaters, Greenwald said, a situation that took precedence over the budget.

"There are people whose lives are being damaged out there," he said.

But it was clear that from the start of the day that the Assembly Democratic leadership did not have the seven votes needed to get the bill out of committee. The vote came after nearly two weeks of steady lobbying by Corzine and his surrogates of balky Assembly Democrats.

Joseph Donnelly, a spokesman for Roberts, disputed that suggestion that the bill could not have cleared committee.

"The speaker can always get the votes if he needs them," Donnelly said. "The question is could the bill have gotten out today and the answer is yes."

Cryan, meanwhile, shrugged off his confrontation with Greenwald.

"Democrats disagree at times. Hopefully we come together at the end," he said.

Cryan, picked by Corzine to head the Democratic State Committee, was among those involved in a series of closed-door meetings during the lull in the committee meeting. At one point, he headed for Roberts' office, spent a few moments, then departed for the office of Sen. Richard J. Codey, D-West Orange, the Senate president. He went back and forth four times, finally leaving Roberts' office, turning to an aide, and saying brusquely: "Let's go."

Corzine himself had a parade of legislators and others in private meetings.

One of them, Senate Majority Leader Bernard F. Kenny, D-Hoboken, said he remained a supporter of the governor's budget. And he had scolding words for some Assembly counterparts in the explosive budget committee meeting.

"What happened this morning was chaotic," he said. "This was something that should not have happened, that should have been stopped, and people should come together and compromise."

Staff Writer Tom Davis contributed to this article.

STANDOFF IN ASSEMBLY: Committee chairman tries in vain to grill Corzine's state treasurer

Budget divide grows wider

Posted by the Asbury Park Press, Courier Post  & other Gannett papers on 06/29/06

BY JONATHAN TAMARI
GANNETT STATE BUREAU

TRENTON — As floodwaters surged onto roads outside the Statehouse on Wednesday, tempers spilled over indoors during a long day of high political theater that produced little movement in a rapidly escalating budget showdown.

The day featured a six-hour standoff between Gov. Corzine's administration and Assembly leaders over Corzine's plan to increase the sales tax by one percentage point, a brief but heated public confrontation between the head of the state Democratic Party and a key assemblyman, and the curious absence of one member of the budget panel, all set against the backdrop of an impending flood threatening to close state government even before the budget gridlock does.

In the end, a flood emergency chased government workers from Trenton, and a compromise on Corzine's $30.9 billion spending proposal seemed no closer.

Lawmakers warned of a government shutdown if the budget is not signed close to the July 1 deadline. A shutdown could close casinos and state parks, maybe even during the Independence Day holiday weekend.

The strange turns punctuated two days of rising acrimony over the budget that spiked when Corzine said in a Tuesday night radio appearance he would veto the Assembly's plan to pass a budget without his $1.1 billion sales tax hike.

With the Democrats on the Assembly Budget Committee hoping to advance their proposal anyway — but facing a risky vote because two of their members have sided with Corzine, splitting the panel in half — the committee chairman, Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald, D-Camden, instead demanded that the state treasurer drop everything and report to the panel.

"The administration has some explaining to do," Greenwald said, and ordered an Assembly sergeant-at-arms to summon Treasurer Bradley Abelow. "This committee will not adjourn, we will not recess, and we will not take up other bills for consideration until we've had the opportunity to discuss this crisis."

Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union, chairman of the state Democratic Party and a Corzine supporter, immediately confronted Greenwald, and the two were separated by Assemblyman Albio Sires, D-Hudson.

Abelow snubbed the committee, however, and did not show.

Greenwald kept waiting, taking no testimony or other action, but eventually closed the meeting at 5:40 p.m., about 6 1/2 hours after issuing his ultimatum. He cited the flood emergency and, on his way out of the building, said he had made progress.

Treasury Department spokesman Tom Vincz said Abelow was busy managing state property as the floods approached and preparing for a possible government shutdown.

"I don't think a lot of hootin' and hollerin' is going to get us the right response," Corzine said.

View from the Senate

Sen. Bernard Kenny Jr., D-Hudson, who has supported Corzine's budget, said the divisions have turned personal. He said the Senate supports Corzine and will not advance a budget that faces a certain veto.

"What happened today in the Assembly committee was something that should not have happened," Kenny said. "They should have been there to do their business and not to have that sort of confrontation."

Half of the 12 members of the Assembly Budget Committee — two Assembly Democrats who support Corzine and four Republicans who oppose any tax increases — oppose the Assembly Democrats' budget, putting its fate in doubt.

But Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr., D-Camden, said he could still get the bill through.

"There's developments during the course of a meeting that allow you to get things achieved," Roberts said. "The bills wouldn't have been posted unless there was the expectation that we would have advanced them today."

Some procedural quirks allow for passing a bill despite a split committee.

Sires was only at the meeting because Assemblywoman Joan Quigley, D-Hudson, was mysteriously absent. Quigley, who is said to be another possible vote against the Assembly plan, could not be reached for comment.

Wearing a broad smile, Kenny, the Hudson County Democratic Party chairman, said Quigley "didn't feel well" in the morning but was better by afternoon and wanted to retake her spot on the panel.

"I wouldn't prejudge her vote," Kenny said.

Kenny warned that, with both sides digging in, party-planners hoping to use state parks over the July Fourth weekend should beware.

"They should make plans," Kenny said, "but they should have options."

Jonathan Tamari: jtamari@gannett.com

Star Ledger

The governor, the fiscal mess and the tired script

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Bob Braun Star Ledger columnist

Is there a pattern here?

For more than 40 years, the members of the political classes who take up the good parking spaces in Trenton, abetted by voters, have exhibited eerily repetitive behavior:

A Democrat (often someone who hasn't served time -- in the Legislature), is elected governor and discovers to his shock that, despite New Jersey's wealth and confiscatory property taxes, state government and its dependents like public schools are short of cash.

That governor calls for "structural reform" of revenue, denounces Republican "gimmicks" that got us into this mess, and then throttles lawmakers of his own party -- all of whom stood, lovingly and within camera range, behind him just weeks earlier during his victory speech -- into passing painful tax increases.

The Democratic governor employs much better theater than his Republican counterparts, including enlisting allies in public employee unions (whose members have lots of spare time during weekdays for demonstrations) and creating a Doomsday Scenario in which all life on Earth -- or at least the operations of government -- ceases unless legislators make you and me pay more.

The tax is passed, enduring structural reform is finally achieved, and New Jersey is put on the path to good fiscal health. And it all lasts for at least 30 days or the next election, whichever occurs sooner.

This is followed, more or less, by the election of a Republican governor, who (with a newly elected Republican Legislature) promises to reduce those unnecessary taxes and denounces "tax-and-spend" Democrats, including the former lawmakers who now must work full-time on their law practices or at the other public jobs they hold as mayors or county coordinators of something important -- and who vow, at least until the next political wash-and-rinse cycle, never again to be stampeded into raising taxes by a governor of their own party.

The Republican governor reduces taxes but borrows money from Wall Street or Hong Kong and ups fees on everything from licensing dachshunds to getting a degree from a state college (whose president argues the hike is fair because it is no longer just a state college, but a state university, and everyone knows universities should charge higher tuitions than colleges).

Democrat Richard Hughes, father of the sales tax. Followed by William Cahill, a Republican (or at least he thought so).

Followed by Democrat Brendan Byrne, dubbed -- inaccurately, it turns out -- OTB ("One-Term Byrne") because of his lust for the income tax. Followed by Republican Tom Kean, who actually did raise the income tax (but hasn't been able to bring himself to confess that to his son).

Followed by Democrat Jim Florio, who raised income taxes by an amount roughly equal to the combined GNP of the European Union -- only to be swallowed up in the Great Republican Restoration of 1993, led by a woman who had trained for running the state as a Somerset County freeholder and who scared Bill Bradley so badly he left the U.S. Senate and ran unsuccessfully for president of New Hampshire against Al Gore.

Christie Todd Whitman did not, as once alleged, raise operating revenue by having her state treasurer play the nickel slots at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, but she did use bond money to run government and that's pretty much the same thing.

So, of course, Democrats were returned. And, while some confusing and even unprintable events involving governors and acting governors intervened since Whitman left, we are back to a Democratic governor (who never served in the Legislature) complaining about Republican gimmicks, promising "structural change" and persuading Democratic legislators to open their veins (and our wallets) for a big sales tax increase.

A sales tax increase?

Not only is it a tax, but a regressive one that hurts the poor, leaving conflicted urban loyalists like Sen. Bernard Kenny (D-Hudson) to utter obfuscations like, "It's a consumption tax," hoping we believe only those with tuberculosis have to pay it.

And we are treated to scenes of multimillionaire Jon Corzine, angrily pumping his fist in the air at a union rally like a 1968 graduate student, making common cause with truant teachers and other public workers who don't get how upset private-sector employees are that their jobs, pensions and health insurance have been cut while their property taxes soar and sales taxes are raised to secure other persons' pensions.

"Twenty-five years and out" has a whole different meaning to someone who's just been laid off than to a public employee about to retire.

Somewhere, certainly, a young Republican is biding his (or her -- these are, after all, Republicans) time, planning a run for governor with promises to cut the Democrats' unnecessary taxes and finance the budget by selling state universities to the Chinese.

Bob Braun's columns appear Monday and Thursday. He may be reached at rbraun@starledger.com or (973) 392 4281.


© 2006  The Star Ledger

© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

 

Behind dollar battle, it's Jon vs. Joe
Wednesday, June 28, 2006





YOU'VE GOT TO give Jon Corzine credit. When he makes up his mind that something is the right thing to do, he sticks to his guns. So it is with the budget impasse. Having weighed the alternatives, he opted for a 1 percent increase in the sales tax to plug a deficit of more than a billion dollars.

If he were still the chairman of Goldman Sachs and the matter at hand was a big change in investment strategy, he would put the word out, "Go do it," and it would be done. But that is not how government works, nor politics. Especially not in New Jersey.

The Legislature is a coequal branch of the state government, together with the judiciary, and when it comes to taxes, the Assembly, which must face the voters every two years, takes constitutional precedence over the Senate, which stands for election three times every decade. All tax measures must originate in the Assembly.

That means that the Assembly speaker, Joe Roberts, who decides which bills get posted for a vote in his chamber, is a very important fellow. He thinks a sales-tax increase would be political poison and he has persuaded himself that it can be avoided.

After polling fellow Assembly Democrats, he informed the governor that there just wasn't enough support in the caucus for an increase. And no Republicans were going to vote for it. Ergo, it was dead. Fuhgeddaboutit. Go to Plan B.

Cuts and efficiencies

And what was Roberts' notion of a Plan B that could pass muster with the Assembly? Cuts in state spending and "efficiencies." And what items would be reduced or eliminated? Well, funding for the courts and those pesky judges could be trimmed, to begin with. And the Agriculture and Environmental Protection departments could be pared back, as well as the Legislature's own staffs, starting, we can surmise, with the minority staffs.

Also, on a happier note, the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services was projecting that state revenues for the year starting Saturday would be substantially higher than the governor had projected, $300 million higher. All things considered, the budget could be balanced without a big tax increase, the speaker informed the governor. Wasn't that good news?

Alas, no, the governor responded. It was not good news. It was more of the same-old, same-old. At a press conference after his meeting with Roberts and his chief lieutenants, Corzine, also a Democrat, spoke frankly:

"If we don't have recurring revenues matching recurring expenditures, if we have a budget loaded with gimmicks, if we're just kicking the can down the road, I'm not signing that budget. Now, there are other options. We can take a red pen to municipal aid, we can take a red pen to a lot of things that I think people would find pretty draconian."

The governor was putting it on the line. The opposition that counted here was not the Republicans, who were cheering as Roberts drew his line in the sand. No, it was Assembly Democrats, especially Roberts himself.

Powerful governor

Corzine was pointing out that he has a power that not even the president has, although the incumbent in the White House is trying to get it, and that is the line-item veto. Corzine can return whatever spending bill the Legislature sends him with specific items deleted. The Legislature can override his veto, but that requires a vote of two-thirds of each chamber.

Also, the state Constitution gives to the governor the power to decide whether the budget the Legislature sends him is properly balanced. If he determines that it is not, then it does not take effect, a decision that the Legislature cannot override, and from that point forward, starting Saturday this year, the state functions in a financial twilight zone, with no constitutional authority for further spending.

In that event, the administration is planning to close forthwith the Atlantic City casinos, shut down highway projects, and close parks and campgrounds. Later, "non-essential" state employees would be laid off. The Treasury would stop sending state-aid checks to cities, towns and school districts.

So, if Roberts and his Assembly supporters dig in their heels, we could be in for stormy weather. They are motivated not so much by heartfelt opposition to a 1 percent increase in the sales tax as by heartfelt concern for their political futures.

Little opposition

They keep reminding each other of Jim Florio's infamous $2.8 billion tax package in 1990, which included a similar sales tax increase, later repealed, and which led to Democrats' loss of State House power for a decade. However, genial Dick Codey, president of the Senate, also Democrat-controlled, says there just isn't much concern about a 1 percent tax increase this year in New Jersey.

I think he's right. A boardwalk Shore rally against the increase attracted fewer than 100 people, compared to the thousands who turned out against the Florio tax package. As for Corzine, he is comfortable in his own skin. He isn't looking to make a deal. He isn't worried about reelection.

If it turns out that, like Florio, he is a one-term governor, he's OK with that. He'll find other things to do.

James Ahearn is former managing editor of The Record. Send comments about this column to oped@northjersey.com.