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Corzine signs $29 billion N.J. budget - Phila Inquirer Trenton Bureau ...........................NJ school districts without schools face last days - northjersey.com
Teacher-certification programs booming in N.J. - Phila Inquirer
NJ.com Loch Arbour : Tiny town's tax bills to double under Corzine's 'reform'
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Posted on Tue, Jun. 30, 2009 Corzine signs $29 billion N.J. budget By Jonathan Tamari Inquirer Trenton Bureau Gov. Corzine signed a $29 billion budget yesterday that he said managed the national recession by cutting spending but still making "the right choices" to preserve programs for education, the poor, and the elderly. The plan relies on about $1.2 billion in new taxes, mostly on tax filers earning $400,000 or more, and scales back property-tax rebates. But Corzine said average New Jerseyans were protected. "Given the economic context in which we live, and were forced to develop this budget, we have much to be proud of," Corzine said. He said New Jersey was in a much better fiscal position than states such as California, Ohio, and Michigan. Corzine said a tax amnesty this year brought in $725 million, beating its $200 million target. The money, and any new revenues that come in during the year, will go to property-tax relief, Corzine said. The budget also counts on $325 million in wage freezes and furloughs from a plan that labor unions have yet to formally agree to. The largest employee union, the Communications Workers of America, is scheduled to complete voting on the deal this week. Other unions, however, have yet to agree to the same conditions. The budget that begins tomorrow is $4 billion smaller than the spending plan Corzine signed last June. But the $29 billion bottom line doesn't count $2.2 billion in federal stimulus aid that is supporting key line items, mostly school funding and Medicaid, off the books. And the biggest spending cut is a $940 million reduction in pension payments, which will have to be made up later. Republicans said the budget pushed billions of dollars of costs into the future. "Make no mistake: This budget is Jon Corzine's election-year Hail Mary pass," said Sen. Steven Oroho (R., Sussex). About $900 million in tax increases are from income-tax rate hikes affecting 61,300 filers. Tax filers earning $150,000 or more will see their property-tax deduction reduced or eliminated. Taxes will rise on cigarettes, some insurers, lottery winnings larger than $10,000, and alcohol, except beer. Contact staff writer Jonathan Tamari at 609-989-9016 or jtamari@phillynews.com. |
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NJ school districts without schools face last days Tuesday, June 30, 2009 BY PATRICIA ALEX NorthJersey.com STAFF WRITER The Teterboro and Rockleigh school boards are set to go the way of the dinosaur thanks to a law signed by Governor Corzine Tuesday that would eliminate so-called non-operating school districts. The two are among 23 districts in the state that have no schools, yet provide governance and administration to pay tuition to send their students to other districts. Rockleigh will likely be consolidated with Northvale, while Teterboro will become part of the Hasbrouck Heights school district, said Aaron Graham, executive superintendent of schools for Bergen County. Corzine touted the move as a first step in streamlining the state’s costly education bureaucracy. There are 593 operating districts in the state – nearly 70 in Bergen County alone – and the state is pushing for county superintendents to come up with a plan this spring to consolidate and regionalize some smaller districts. Those mergers would require voter approval. The elimination of the non-operating districts, however, did not require a referendum. Because of that it was opposed by the New Jersey School Boards Association. Some of the non-operating districts are being consolidated with small districts that may later be part of broader regionalization efforts, said Frank Belluscio, of the school boards group. “At this stage why go through this convoluted process? Why not wait until the regionalization votes?” he asked. Also many of the non-operating districts had opted to stay so because they believed it would be less costly, said Belluscio. Jim Hall, a longtime school trustee and secretary for the Teterboro board, fears that may be true. “There is a feeling that it’s not going to be cost effective,’’ said Hall. Hall said the district never spent more than $16,000 a year in administrative costs, for legal services and a part-time treasurer. Hall said he has taken no salary in the 25 years he has served as board secretary. “I guess I’m out of a job as of today,” said Hall, who is 91. He said Teterboro now has about nine students. In the past, elementary students went to South Hackensack while high schoolers attended Hasbrouck Heights. Hall said Graham has decided that all the borough’s students will now attend Hasbrouck Heights schools. Rockleigh has about 23 students, Graham said. They now attend Northvale schools and both towns send to Northern Valley Regional High school at Old Tappan. In the first year of the merger, the Commissioner of the Department of Education – through the county superintendents – will decide how finances of the new consolidated districts will work, according to the department. Representatives from both towns eventually will sit on the consolidated school boards. There are no non-operating districts in Passaic County. In Morris County, Victory Gardens will be consolidated with Dover. E-mail: alex@northjersey.com |
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Posted on Wed, Jul. 1, 2009 Teacher-certification programs booming in N.J. By Cynthia Henry Inquirer Staff Writer They have worked as a clothing buyer, cabinetmaker, personal trainer, painting contractor, psychologist, grant writer, cell biologist, journalist, artist, home builder, and executive coach. Now they want to teach - art, math, foreign language, business, theater, and social studies. For some, the motivation is economic, not just altruistic. The recession has produced record enrollment this summer in Burlington and Camden County Colleges' alternate teacher-certification programs and spurred interest in similar Pennsylvania programs. "I got a bachelor's degree in fashion-industry management from Philadelphia University and became a buyer," said Ashley Carullo of Marlton, "but I hated it." She has preferred substituting as a teacher of family and consumer science at her alma mater, Cherokee High School in Marlton. New Pathways to Teaching, a partnership between New Jersey City University in Jersey City and 15 community colleges statewide, provides instruction in education theory and teaching methods to college-educated professionals who have passed qualifying exams in the subjects they want to teach. It begins with six weeks of intensive summer classes and requires students to secure a teaching job by fall to continue with a year of on-the-job mentoring and training. At Burlington County College, which started classes last month, enrollment is up 50 percent, largely because of changes in the labor market, coordinator Carol Grant-Holmes said. Students range in age from their 20s to their 50s. At least 42 students are attending classes at Camden County College, the most since New Pathways began there seven years ago. Home building "has just dried up," said Anthony Pagliuso of Medford, who is in his family's construction business. "I have spec houses just sitting. The phone isn't ringing." Pagliuso, who is attending Burlington County, started as a substitute business teacher this year in the Lenape Regional School District. "I just want to give back what I've learned over the years," he said. Mortgage financing has fallen off for Paul Soutar of Mount Laurel, who has degrees in business and finance. He hopes to teach middle school math. Sportswriter Aaron Bracy of Merchantville said he was after good hours and a job with a solid future. "Newspapers are pretty unstable right now," said Bracy, a veteran of three of them. About a third of this summer's 44-member Burlington County class is male - the highest percentage ever. "I'm so happy to see the number of men here," Grant-Holmes said. "Administrators want to bring diversity to their buildings, especially at the elementary level." In Pennsylvania, multiple programs ready career-changers for jobs in the classroom. At La Salle University in Philadelphia, Steve Downs, director of graduate programs in education, said that the recession had created more applicants for the school's program, which prepares those with bachelor's degrees for teaching careers, then gives them three years to earn a master's degree in education. Some applicants never got a footing in the professions they had planned, said Downs, who came to education after a degree in zoology and a career in marketing. He said the program had seen a growing number of recent college graduates who had difficulty finding employment in their undergraduate major. "They're looking at the job market and saying, 'Do I really want to be an accountant when I can't find an accounting job out there? Maybe I want to teach,' " Downs said. New Jersey was the first state to allow alternate teacher certification, beginning in 1985. Though programs differ throughout the state, they are based on a 34-week model of mentoring, supervision, and evaluation. Most of the 200 hours of formal instruction occur concurrently with on-the-job experience, said Richard Vespucci, state Department of Education spokesman. The state has granted more than 28,000 alternate-route certificates. In the 2007-08 school year, about a third of all first-year teachers in New Jersey were alternate-route candidates, Vespucci said. Bernadette Katrisiosis, a former grant writer enrolled at Burlington County, has lined up a job in September teaching Latin and Italian at Lenape and Shawnee High Schools in Medford. "I was just overwhelmed that people were still into taking Latin," said Katrisiosis, of Mount Laurel, who majored in classical languages and studies "years ago" at Drew University in Morris County. Grant-Holmes said most in demand were instructors of math, science, foreign language, and specialty subjects such as business or technological arts. The most competitive jobs are in elementary education. She counsels prospective teachers to volunteer to coach teams or advise clubs. "The more diversity you can bring to an interview," she said, "the better you'll look." Katrisiosis said she was "excited but terrified" to begin teaching. Looking over the New Pathways syllabus, she saw a lot to master. In 12 four-hour classes this summer, students will study classroom management, testing, lesson plans, communication, motivation, and discipline. They will spend 15 hours observing in a school. "Once I was in the classroom, I realized how important that summer preparation was," said Michele Schneidereit of Medford, who completed Burlington County's New Pathways program in 2008. Schneidereit just finished her second year teaching computer science at Maple Shade High School, where she draws from 20 years of software-engineering experience. Her first year, she welcomed "the confirmation and reassurance" of her New Pathways peers. She switched careers after being laid off. "I'm halfway to a master's degree," said Schneidereit, who took New Pathways for credit. "I couldn't be more pleased." The program was developed a decade ago to help replace retiring teachers. During the 2005-06 school year, the most recent for which data were available, about 23 percent of the state's teachers were older than 50, and 20 percent were between 42 and 49, Vespucci said. The economy may delay some retirements, but demographics continue to fuel turnover, a teachers union spokeswoman said. Some alternate-certification programs - such as the newest, at Montclair State University in Essex County - focus on filling shortages in particular subjects. The first "traders-to-teachers" class, a federally funded program created in March by the state Legislature, will begin in September. More than 200 people applied for 25 spots, said Ada Beth Cutler, Montclair's education dean. The 18-month pilot program is tailored to out-of-work financial-services employees who did not major in math in college, but who have skills to teach it. The U.S. Department of Labor will provide tuition through 2010 to train 100 math teachers. Grant-Holmes, a former principal and teacher, advised the Burlington County students to approach alternate certification with confidence: Their life experiences would inform their teaching. "You're mature students," she said. "You know what you want." |
NJ.com Loch Arbour : Tiny town's tax bills to double under Corzine's 'reform'
by Paul Mulshine/ The Star-Ledger June 30, 2009 5:22AM
Unless a judge intervenes today, by this time tomorrow the residents of the tiny Jersey Shore village of Loch Arbour will see their property-tax bills double overnight. Some will be forced to sell their houses.
And all in the name of property-tax relief.
I know it sounds nutty. But that's the way Trenton works.
For some years now, politicians of both parties have been encouraging people in small towns to give up their insistence on having their own schools, police departments and fire departments. Then, perhaps, property-tax bills might finally be brought under control.
The people in the Monmouth County community of Loch Arbour made the mistake of taking this seriously. Ten years ago, the town fathers cut a deal with neighboring Ocean Township that was the very model of efficiency. Ocean Township would provide police services and school services for Loch Arbour.
In return, Loch Arbour would pay Ocean Township an annual amount that was acceptable to both towns.
It was a win-win situation. So naturally the Corzine administration had to step in and turn Loch Arbour into a loser.
That action came last year with Gov. Jon Corzine's signing of what was supposed to have been his signature property-tax relief bill, the School Funding Reform Act.
Hidden in that bill's 113 pages was a provision that abrogated the contract between the two towns. Instead of sending an annual payment to Ocean Township amounting to about $14,500 per pupil, Loch Arbour would now be charged on the basis of its total ratables.
And since Loch Arbour is an oceanfront town with many summer homes and few schoolchildren, the annual payment will rise overnight from a little more than $300,000 a year to more than $1.6 million a year.
That's an average tax hike of almost $10,000 per household in a village of 140 homes. The summer people with the beachfront homes might be able to afford it, but the year-round residents in the back of town consist mainly of working stiffs and retirees.
One such retiree is Melanie Nowlin, a former state employee who with Frank Matthews owns a house in the inland part of town that borders Asbury Park.
"Our taxes right now are about $11,000 a year, but if this goes through it would be at least $23,000 a year or maybe more," Nowlin told me.
A lot of people think of Loch Arbour as a "rich" town, but many of the residents are house-poor, she said.
"I know a woman who is buying a house from her brothers and sisters and she's a nurse," she said. "How is she going to afford another $8,000 a year in taxes?"
The residents' sole hope of avoiding that giant tax bill tomorrow rests with a lawsuit that will be heard before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cavanagh today.
Michael Schottland, the attorney representing Loch Arbour, is offering a complex legal argument calling for Cavanagh to issue an injunction to stop the tax hike. But it boils down to one question:
"Why did they go and disturb this?" he asks. "The system was working. Why did they go and shake it up?"
Perhaps because the Corzine administration's quest for municipal consolidation is really just a quest for cash cows.
In any other state, the Matthews family would be considered overtaxed at $11,000 a year for a single-family home.
In Jersey, the pols look at a house like that and ask why they can't double the tax bill and pump the money into the bureaucracy.
They may have overstepped with this move, however. If this tax hike holds up in court, any mayor who ever again considers entering into a shared-service agreement will be guilty of malfeasance. If the state can change a mutually agreed-upon contract for education services, what's to stop them from changing a contract for police, fire or garbage services?
This is not mere theory, by the way. Last Thursday I was in the Statehouse as the Senate approved a bill that will create 23 more Loch Arbours. That bill mandates a forced consolidation for every "non-operating" school district in the state. A non-operating school district is the term the Trenton crowd uses for any town that has wisely decided to pay a neighboring town to educate its kids rather than run a school of its own.
The bill sets out the punishment for having made the mistake of sharing services: The taxpayers in these districts will receive the same treatment being meted out to Loch Arbour residents.
The Corzine administration now has the power to abrogate the current per-pupil funding arrangements and implement the ratable-based system that's being forced on Loch Arbour.
That's property-tax reform, New Jersey style. Corzine came into office promising to send these homeowners a check in the mail.
But unless that judge issues an injunction, those checks will be going the other way.
And with a lot more zeroes on them.
