| ||||||||||||
The Record ‘Schools superintendents detail impact of state aid cuts to N.J. judge’ Star Ledger ‘Christie to announce $584M plan for construction, renovation of 10 N.J.’
Star Ledger ‘U.S. education secretary criticizes N.J. GOP plan to cut preschool budget in urban areas’
Njspotlight.com ‘Abbott v. Burke Takes Up 135-Year-Old Dispute
New Jersey News Room ‘N.J. Education Commissioner Cerf to address teacher effectiveness and tenure reform’
Njspotlight.com ‘Abbott v. Burke Takes Up 135-Year-Old Dispute
Did Christie's cuts to state aid obstruct the "thorough and efficient" education mandated by the state constitution?
By John Mooney, February 15 in Education |1 Comment
been disputed in New Jersey for more than a century, since the state’s voters in 1875 confirmed it as a constitutional guarantee.
Related Links
Some 135 years later, a daylong hearing in a Hackensack courtroom yesterday was a clear reminder that the meaning of the phrase remains an unsettled issue.
The setting was the first day in what is slated to be a month of fact-finding hearings about the impact on public education of Gov. Chris Christie's and the legislature's more than $890 million in state aid cuts last year.
Part of a larger challenge in the epic Abbott v. Burke hearings, the question before the court is whether schools have been left unable to attain that constitutional mandate. The discussion was wide-ranging, touching on curriculum, class size, sports and even school busing.
Stressing the Question
State Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne, holding the fact-finding hearings for the state Supreme Court, repeatedly asked the same question of the two school superintendents who were the day’s star witnesses.
"Can you provide a thorough and efficient education for a majority of your children that meets the state’s core curriculum standards?" Doyne asked Woodbridge superintendent John Crowe in the afternoon.
The answers were murky, to be sure, with lawyers and educators going back and forth in defining what that meant. There was some consensus that meeting the state’s core curriculum standards, a patchwork of requirements developed over the past decade, was part of the definition.
Crowe and Piscataway superintendent Robert Copeland, the morning’s witness, both cited cuts in world language classes that were in clear defiance of the standards’ requirements.
Still, the superintendents also stressed that they were providing the very best education they could, given the circumstances.
"With all due respect, to the best of our ability, that is our intention, that is our wish," Copeland said. "I just think there are areas where we are having a great deal of difficulty."
A Long Walk
The judge persisted. From the bench, Doyne also asked about increases in class sizes, cuts in middle school sports and even Woodbridge’s planned reduction in busing for kindergarteners.
"You have kindergarten children walking a mile to school?" he asked Crowe, with some astonishment.
Still, the court’s own definition of "thorough and efficient" hasn’t always been much clearer over the years. Even back in 1875, there was some dispute whether the state should be guaranteeing a "rudimentary" education instead of a "thorough" one.
On September 7, 1875, a rancorous vote decided by a margin of 400,000 citizens angrily pitted classes, ideologies and religions. Much of the fight was between Protestants and Catholics as to what should define education for the masses, the latter seeking a share in the public funds for their schools.
The Protestants won, and in the end it was the following language that remains in the Constitution: "The legislature shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of free public schools for the instruction of all the children in this state between the ages of five and eighteen."
But in the earliest days of Abbott and before that in its predecessor case, Robinson v. Cahill, the court grappled with what that meant.
Paul Tractenberg is the founding director of the Education Law Center that first brought the case and carries it to this day. He recalls some of his earliest legal briefs making the point that the intent was about optimal education more than just an adequate one.
"And over the years, slowly and incrementally, the court came to understand it as the best possible education for urban kids," said Tractenberg, a Rutgers law professor who yesterday watched the hearings with some of his law students.
"Notwithstanding what this court will do," he said, "there has been a steady ratcheting of it up."
The Record ‘Schools superintendents detail impact of state aid cuts to N.J. judge’
Monday, February 14, 2011
Last updated: Tuesday February 15, 2011, 8:14 AM
BY LESLIE BRODY
The Record
STAFF WRITER
Two schools superintendents on Monday told a judge examining the impact of last year’s state aid cuts that their districts were having serious trouble giving students the quality education they deserved.
Superintendents from Piscataway and Woodbridge testified for seven hours in Hackensack about cuts in funding for guidance counselors, librarians, classroom aides and remedial services, saying such losses put enormous strain on teachers as they tried to meet all their students’ needs. At-risk students have suffered the most from the diminished support, they said.
The testimony came in the first day of hearings before Bergen County Assignment Judge Peter Doyne, appointed by the New Jersey Supreme Court to determine whether roughly $1 billion in state aid cuts to schools last year violated students’ rights to a thorough and efficient education. The hearings are expected to last about two weeks at the Bergen County courthouse.
Doyne repeatedly asked Woodbridge superintendent John Crowe whether current funding levels enabled the district to meet all the core curriculum requirements.
“At this point in the year, your honor, especially for our at-risk students, I don’t believe so,” Crowe said. He added that it was very hard for him to say so because he “was used to never allowing anyone in our district to make excuses.”
Piscataway district chief Robert Copeland, formerly an assistant superintendent in Teaneck, described the loss of 14 teachers, sharply reduced programs for at-risk and gifted students, and the elimination of middle-school sports. When the judge asked whether current funding allowed him to meet the state’s requirements, Copeland strained to respond.
“We’re giving it our optimal best,” he said. “And there are going to be teachers and students who will succeed no matter the hurdles. … There are some kids born on third base, and they walk in and are able to do everything they’re supposed to. … But I have a whole lot of kids having a hard time getting out of the dugout.’’
Doyne asked if the district could meet requirements for the “overwhelming number of students.”
“I think we will this year, your honor, but I am concerned we will not be meeting the standards for some students for whom we could have,” he answered.
Copeland said he will not know the real academic impact of the cuts until he sees the results of this spring’s proficiency tests. Anecdotal information suggested real problems have arisen due to the loss of guidance counselors. He said one child was grieving on the anniversary of the killing of a sibling, and there was no counselor to help.
“When kids are going through these kinds of trauma, it detracts from their ability to learn,” Copeland said. “As our needs grow, we seem less able to provide that kind of support.”
Deputy Attorney General Jon Martin elicited testimony on the money Piscataway had saved last year by outsourcing custodial work and sharing services with nearby districts. He appeared to be laying a foundation to show that the cuts nudged the district to become more efficient, but Copeland expressed dismay that Piscataway’s elementary schools lost all of their world language teachers, for instance, so children had to watch DVDs to learn Spanish.
The Christie administration has said such cuts were necessary due to the dire fiscal crisis and the loss of one-shot stimulus money. The Education Law Center filed a legal challenge last summer, saying the cuts violated the state’s obligation to fully pay for its 2008 school funding formula.
That formula was devised after decades of litigation over how to fairly distribute state aid among wealthy and poor districts. It laid out what each district would have to spend per child to provide an “adequate” education, and it called for the state to adjust aid annually to help each district reach that level. Last year’s cuts reversed that progress in many districts, according to the Education Law Center.
Piscataway, which has about 7,200 students, lost about $5 million in state aid from a budget of roughly $100 million. It received $1,527 per student in state aid last year, down from $2,350 the year before. Copeland said the formula, if fully funded, would give his district $4,500 per student.
“I’m spending woefully below not only what we would like to say is adequate, but what the state of New Jersey says is adequate to provide for kids in Piscataway,” he said.
Crowe, the Woodbridge superintendent, echoed Copeland’s testimony. His district, which has a $182 million budget, got $17 million in state aid last year, down from $26 million the year before. He had to cut about 120 teaching positions. Now, he said, classes are bigger and there are no librarians in the elementary or middle schools.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Kutlin noted that Crowe signed a document last spring certifying that the proposed spending plan would meet students’ needs.
Crowe said he felt obligated to sign it.
“It was my understanding from the county superintendent that choosing not to sign was a very bad idea,” he said. “It was entirely possible the district would not receive funds” without his signature.
E-mail: brody@northjersey.com
Star Ledger ‘Christie to announce $584M plan for construction, renovation of 10 N.J.’ schoolsPublished: Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 6:00 AM Updated: Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 8:23 AM
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie today will announce approval of $584 million for the construction or renovation of 10 schools through the Schools Development Authority, according to an administration official.
The list of schools to receive the funding will be released today.
The projects in the state’s poorest districts will range from new schools to site improvements and will include an additional $100 million for emergencies, like broken ceilings or heating systems, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the plan and requested anonymity.
The Newark School District alone has identified 54 emergency projects that would cost $250 million.
The agreement to construct or renovate 10 schools is far fewer than the 51 projects that had been approved before Christie took office and shelved by the governor last year.
The SDA includes 31 districts, including Newark, Phillipsburg and Elizabeth. The proposed list must be approved by the authority board at its next meeting in March. .
Christie administration spokesman Kevin Roberts had no comment about the plan late Monday.
Ongoing and new construction through the schools authority was halted when Christie took office. The administration last spring launched a review of the list, developed under former Gov. Jon Corzine. The review was completed in October and school advocates have since anticipated the final list.
The new list will change the way schools are approved for construction, according to the administration official. Each year the entire list of eligible projects will be reviewed to select the next year’s batch of schools. Previously, the authority would identify a number of recommended schools that could be funded in the near future.
New projects will also use a standardized design, described by critics as "cookie cutter" schools, that will save an estimated $4 million for each site. The savings will be realized by eliminating the need for architects and project engineers.
Last week, Assembly Education Committee Chairman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) held a hearing on the delay of the list, but SDA Chief Executive Officer Marc Larkins refused to testify, saying in a letter that he was unavailable.
Diegnan said he has been frustrated by the process to revamp the list, but is hopeful that once it’s announced it will allow construction to begin.
"Its good news," Diegnan said. "It appears as though it’s a Band-Aid on what is really a major wound, but let’s wait and see."
In reviewing the 51 schools on the previous list and any other projects that might have qualified for construction dollars in the interim, the administration used three criteria in addition to identifying the need: the total cost, the cost per pupil and the efficiency of the project.
The development authority’s origins trace back to a 1998 Abbott v. Burke decision by the state Supreme Court that ordered the state to provide 100 percent funding for school renovation and construction projects in special-needs districts, formerly known as "Abbotts."
In 2000, the state launched the School Construction Program, which later became the Schools Construction Corp. A 2005 report by the state inspector general found the agency rife with "waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars," and the state overhauled it again, creating the School Development Authority in 2007.
The authority most recently had 310 employees and a $52 million budget, not including the funds for school construction. Last month, SDA officials began sending layoff notices to nearly two dozen employees, about 10 percent of the staff.
Christie has railed against the authority, saying at town hall meeting that it became a dumping ground for patronage jobs of connected lawmakers and politicians. Christie said before reviewing the construction list, Larkins was tasked with cleaning out the agency.
Star Ledger ‘U.S. education secretary criticizes N.J. GOP plan to cut preschool budget in urban areas’Published: Monday, February 14, 2011, 9:30 PM Updated: Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 6:57 AM
WASHINGTON — U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan criticized New Jersey Senate Republicans today, saying a proposal to roll back full-day preschool in urban districts would hurt students.
"I don’t think, frankly, we need another study to demonstrate the long-term benefits of quality early childhood programs," Duncan said during a teleconference. "Scaling back on early childhood programs is something that is not in the best interest of our communities, or ultimately our states, because we have to close achievement gaps."
The plan, submitted to Gov. Chris Christie’s office by the Senate Republican caucus, calls for funding only half-day preschools in urban districts and diverting the $300 million saved from the cuts to suburban schools.
Under the proposal, districts would also qualify for more state funding if they bus students greater distances or have large populations of senior citizens. There would also be a $30 million grant program to promote accountability in urban schools and $50 million for schools that demonstrate the most efficiency.
A 1998 state Supreme Court decision mandated the state fund half-day preschool in large urban districts. Then-Gov. Christie Whitman decided to implement full-day preschool instead.
"Half-day programs that are two and a half or three hours, that’s not enough time for children and I don’t know how working families or a mom working two or three jobs trying to make ends meet, I don’t see how these families could negotiate that or figure that out," Duncan said.
Senate Republicans shot back today, saying the state doesn’t have a choice.
"New Jersey’s broke, and if we had unlimited resources it would certainly be nice to fund all the programs under the sun, but we don’t," said Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren).
Doherty said taxpayers in suburban towns are bearing the brunt of the funding for urban schools, while being slighted on funding for their own schools. "It’s not about the kids, it’s about the taxpayers who live in the various communities," he said. "It’s free preschool being paid for by the rest of us."
Sen. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union) said Senate Republicans are "leading the discussion about how to invest in our children’s futures while restoring fairness to the way we fund schools for every taxpayer in New Jersey."
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the plan is not a an administration proposal. At a town hall meeting in Union City last week, Christie declined comment on the future of full-day preschool when asked by an audience member. He said he would address the issue in his budget speech next Tuesday.
Duncan also unveiled a proposal that would let states compete for $350 million in federal money to fund high-quality early childhood education.
By Megan DeMarco and Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger
Ginger Gibson contributed to this report.
New Jersey news room ‘N.J. Education Commissioner Cerf to address teacher effectiveness and tenure reform’
Monday, 14 February 2011 18:29
State Acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf will make what his office is describing as a major address Wednesday on public school teacher effectiveness and tenure reform.
The address is expected to launch Gov. Chris Christie's latest push to have teachers evaluated on their ability and change tenure standards that would, in part, allow teachers to be laid off based on their performance evaluations and not on their seniority ranking.
Democrats who control the Legislature and the New Jersey Education Association, the statewide teachers' union, oppose the proposals.
The event is set for 2 p.m. in Room 120 of the Lewis Library at Princeton University.
Seating is limited. For a map of the campus, click here.
