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N.J. school board elections: Don't reverse gains on education funding
By Senator Barbara Buono, Star-Ledger Guest Columnist , Sunday, April 25, 2010
Tuesday’s record turnout for school budget elections was a watershed moment, with voters across the state rejecting an astounding 58 percent of school budgets. The cries for relief from voters who have been overburdened by perpetually escalating property taxes were exacerbated this year by dramatic cuts in state school aid.
With the votes cast, we must now refocus on ensuring that all available state support is distributed more equitably to struggling school districts that for years had been starved of state assistance. That was the sentiment behind the two-year-old bipartisan School Funding Reform Act that I authored in the Senate.
By validating the new formula as constitutional, the state Supreme Court effectively ended the 25-year edict created by its Abbott v. Burke decision, which required the state to send most of its aid to 31 of New Jersey’s poorest districts. The fact is that nearly half of New Jersey’s at-risk children living in poverty reside in the 560 other school districts that fall outside of the Abbott designation.
However, under Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed Fiscal Year 2011 budget, our new school funding formula would be completely dismantled, forcing New Jersey to take a quantum leap backward to the old ad hoc system where suburban and middle-income districts are shut out of the equation. This could lead to yet another court challenge, a costly and time-consuming scenario that the state is all too familiar with.
During the first year of the new formula, struggling non-Abbott districts received a 20 percent increase in state aid if they were spending below the per-pupil adequacy amount prescribed in the new formula; those that were just above the per-pupil adequacy amount saw a 10 percent increase. Although plunging revenues precipitated by the recession forced us to proportionally reduce these aid increases in the second year, our goal was eventually to achieve full funding of the formula upheld by the court.
However, Christie’s proposed budget ignores our appropriation act’s requirement for proportional reductions. Instead it distributes school aid without taking into account the implications it will have on local property taxes and the children residing in each district.
If Christie’s administration had adhered to new formula, 59 districts would not be losing all of their state aid; 73 districts wouldn’t be losing between 75 percent and 100 percent of their aid; 59 districts wouldn’t be losing between half and three-quarters of their aid; and Abbott districts wouldn’t see their proportion of total aid rise by 5 percent while other districts see their proportion of aid fall by 5 percent.
A town like Edison is a quintessential example of why our new aid formula was so desperately needed. With residents from all walks of life and vastly different incomes, Edison could not afford to accommodate many of the district’s special needs without massive tax increases. In the 2008-2009 school year, the new school funding formula increased Edison’s aid by $3.9 million, allowing the district to maintain its lowest tax increase since 1986.
This year, faced with a 56 percent reduction in state aid, Edison’s school tax levy is scheduled to increase by its highest rate since 1986, despite painful and dramatic budget reductions. Voters reacted by rejecting the district’s budget.
The new funding formula, while not a panacea, was designed to remedy the suffering of many suburban and middle-class districts that had been consistently shortchanged. A quick glance through the news archives proves I’m not alone in this sentiment.
While waiting for the new school funding formula to be devised in 2007, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean Jr. noted, "In order to successfully compete in the new global economy, New Jersey’s young students need to be assured that any new school funding formula will provide impartial and unbiased assistance to everyone throughout the state." Assembly Republican budget chair Joe Malone concurred, noting, "It is about time that the suburban and rural school districts get up the political courage to make a statement that they will not tolerate this kind of lack of funding in the future." I could not agree more.
The same bipartisan effort that helped us reach an agreement in 2008 must be employed before the governor completely dismantles the new school funding formula. Failure to do so would not simply violate a constitutional mandate, but also a moral imperative to ensure every child has access to a quality education.
Barbara Buono, a Democrat from Middlesex, is the New Jersey Senate Majority Leader. To add your comments, visit njvoices.com.
N.J. schools need help from both teachers' unions and Gov. Chris Christie
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board, April 25, 2010
The voting is over, but the arguing over funding New Jersey’s schools in the coming year goes 300 school districts where proposed budgets were rejected at the polls on Tuesday, mayors and councils are now feeling the pressure from taxpayers who want significant spending cuts and from parents who want the quality of their schools preserved.
In many cases those are the same people. And who can blame them? New Jersey residents are rightly proud of their public schools but have reached a breaking point in bearing their enormous cost. Education Commissioner Bret Schundler says per-pupil spending has reached $19,000 per year when all costs, including health care coverage for retired school employees, are factored in. By most measures, our school costs are among the highest in the nation.
Of course, we don’t want cut-rate schools. We don’t want to slash away at teacher-student ratios, eliminate foreign language and arts programs, cut back guidance counseling and tutoring and busing along dangerous streets. But in many districts, that’s what it’s coming to — and even with deep cuts, property taxes will go up.
At a time when overall inflation is low, the biggest factor driving up school costs is personnel expenses — that is, salaries for teachers and other employees, plus the cost of their fully paid medical benefits. In ordinary times, no one would begrudge reasonable raises for school employees. But when so many taxpayers have seen their own wages stagnate or drop due to the worst economic slump in most of their lifetimes, raises of 4 percent and more (on top of step increases for years of service) are just not sustainable. They are forcing drastic layoffs and program cutbacks that the teachers themselves should abhor.
Unchastened by Tuesday’s vote results, the New Jersey Education Association still refuses to call on its members to accept a wage freeze. Its latest argument is that even if teachers gave up their raises and started contributing to their health coverage, their sacrifice would not solve the problem — school districts would still face big budget shortfalls, layoffs and tax increases. The real problem, the union says, is the billion-dollar cut in school aid contained in Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed budget.
But it’s not an either-or problem; it’s a double whammy. The typical school district faces a state aid cut amounting to 5 percent of last year’s budget, and a personnel cost increase of about 4 percent. Fixing one problem won’t take care of the other, but it sure would help.
A pay freeze is reasonable and necessary, and the intransigence of the NJEA on this point is forcing school districts to cut more severely than they would otherwise have to.
Christie must show flexibility, too. His refusal to renew even part of last year’s surtax on high income residents worsens the schools’ plight. With money from that tax, he could reward districts where teachers give up their raises by substantially boosting their state aid, allowing them to avoid the most damaging cuts and most severe property tax increases.
We are in an awful money crunch with no simple, pain-free solution. But both the union and the governor have it in their power to reduce the trauma. Then the Legislature can get to work on long-term solutions to New Jersey’s perennial school-funding crisis.
Christie plan may prompt mass teacher retirements, analysis shows
The Record-Sunday, April 25, 2010 BY LISA FLEISHER AND SEAN SPOSITO, STATE HOUSE BUREAU
Governor Christie’s plan to get long-serving teachers to retire this summer could drain lots of experience from some districts, while largely sparing charter schools staffed by younger educators, an analysis shows.
Christie wants to cut pension and health benefits for current teachers, but would allow those who retire by Aug. 1 to get a free pass. The state’s largest teachers union says the plan, which has not been submitted to the Legislature yet, could prompt mass retirements.
The analysis shows more than 29,300 of the state’s nearly 143,750 certified teachers — about 20 percent of the workforce — qualified for retirement, either through age or years worked, according to data from the 2008-09 school year, the latest available. Some teachers may have since retired, died or otherwise left the system.
In Bergen County, the percentage is in keeping with the state average: About a fifth of its 13,926 teachers, or 2,820, would be eligible for retirement.
BY THE NUMBERS
|
County |
Eligible |
Total |
% |
|
Bergen |
2,820 |
13,926 |
20.2 |
|
Passaic |
1,999 |
8,163 |
24.5 |
|
Morris |
1,619 |
8,382 |
19.3 |
|
Hudson |
2,173 |
8,195 |
26.5 |
|
New Jersey |
29,328 |
143,733 |
20.4 |
|
Source: New Jersey Department of Education | |||
The portion is higher in Passaic County, where 24.5 percent, or 1,999, of 8,163 teachers are eligible.
Nearly a third of the number in Passaic County are Paterson teachers. According to the data, 660 of the city’s 2,764, teachers are eligible. Retirements could help avert some of the 775 layoffs looming in the city schools. But Peter Tirri, the teachers union president, said the retirement of large numbers of veteran educators would be chaotic.
"You need relationships with parents, you’ve got to establish roots in a school," Tirri said.
The number of eligible teachers exceeds the averages in some smaller districts in North Jersey.
In Carlstadt, nearly 39 percent, or 21 of the 54 teachers in the district, are eligible. The district has one school, as does Alpine, where 10 of 27 teachers, or 37 percent, are eligible. In Ringwood, 45 of 135 would be eligible, fully a third of the teaching staff, according to the data.
The analysis also found:
* More than 42 percent of those with doctorates and 25 percent with master’s degrees were eligible to retire.
* The state’s public charter school districts have the "youngest" staffs, with only 5 percent of certified teaching staff eligible to retire.
* By sheer numbers, Essex County, second only to Bergen for the highest number of certified teachers, could lose the most workers — more than 3,000. More than a third of those could come from Newark, the state’s largest district, where 1,181 of the 4,488 certificated staff members were eligible.
* More than 40 percent of the 9,085 administrators were eligible to retire.
The administration is advancing the plan to free up money in local budgets and address long-term problems in the state’s public employee pension and benefits systems.
"The best deal is on the table right now, and they know with certainty that that’s going to change," said Alan Guenther, a spokesman for Education Commissioner Bret Schundler. "If they want to retire now, they can retire with full benefits and pay, but if they wait, it will not be the same benefit-and-salary structure."
Christie has questioned the assumption that so many teachers would retire, calling it a "scare tactic" of the union. He also said that if teachers do go, "there are plenty of good, enthusiastic teachers ready to take their place."
School officials, however, worry about losing experience and having to make hasty hires.
"There are teachers that have worked their entire careers, and all of a sudden, all they’ve come to know has changed," said John Alfieri, superintendent in Vernon Township, where almost 35 percent was eligible to retire and at least 20 people have told him they plan to go. "They’re scared, and I hate to see great teachers leaving after all these years out of fear."
Lisa Fleisher and Sean Sposito are reporters for The Star-Ledger. Record Staff Writer Patricia Alex and Star-Ledger reporters Jeremy Walsh, Brent Johnson, Victoria St. Martin and Claire Heininger contributed to this article.
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Educator exodus could hit some districts harder | |||
|
Proposed changes to teachers’ pensions could spark an uneven wave of retirements across the state. Here is how each district in Bergen and Passaic County could be affected, based on an analysis of data from the 2008-09 school year. The data do not reflect people who have retired, died or otherwise left the system since then, and counts eligible retirees as those born in 1948 and earlier, or those listed with at least 25 years of education experience in New Jersey. | |||
|
District |
Eligible |
Total |
Percent |
|
Bergen County | |||
|
Allendale |
11 |
92 |
12 |
|
Alpine |
10 |
27 |
37 |
|
Bergen Special Services |
79 |
369 |
21.40 |
|
Bergen Vocational School |
55 |
267 |
20.60 |
|
Bergenfield |
68 |
345 |
19.70 |
|
Bogota |
37 |
119 |
31.10 |
|
Carlstadt |
21 |
54 |
38.90 |
|
Becton Regional |
10 |
56 |
17.90 |
|
Cliffside Park |
81 |
245 |
33.10 |
|
Closter |
17 |
107 |
15.90 |
|
Cresskill |
40 |
156 |
25.60 |
|
Demarest |
20 |
78 |
25.60 |
|
Dumont |
78 |
259 |
30.10 |
|
East Rutherford |
26 |
85 |
30.60 |
|
Edgewater |
9 |
48 |
18.80 |
|
Elmwood Park |
27 |
186 |
14.50 |
|
Emerson |
28 |
118 |
23.70 |
|
Englewood |
62 |
341 |
18.20 |
|
Englewood Cliffs |
7 |
58 |
12.10 |
|
Fair Lawn |
108 |
484 |
22.30 |
|
Fairview |
28 |
94 |
29.80 |
|
Fort Lee |
81 |
325 |
24.90 |
|
Franklin Lakes |
32 |
188 |
17 |
|
Garfield |
103 |
461 |
22.30 |
|
Glen Rock |
54 |
255 |
21.20 |
|
Hackensack |
92 |
482 |
19.10 |
|
Harrington Park |
8 |
70 |
11.40 |
|
Hasbrouck Heights |
35 |
155 |
22.60 |
|
Haworth |
12 |
55 |
21.80 |
|
Hillsdale |
24 |
135 |
17.80 |
|
Ho-Ho-Kus |
15 |
64 |
23.40 |
|
Leonia |
35 |
207 |
16.90 |
|
Little Ferry |
22 |
90 |
24.40 |
|
Lodi |
66 |
281 |
23.50 |
|
Lyndhurst |
65 |
201 |
32.30 |
|
Mahwah |
56 |
323 |
17.30 |
|
Maywood |
16 |
87 |
18.40 |
|
Midland Park |
30 |
117 |
25.60 |
|
Montvale |
19 |
111 |
17.10 |
|
Moonachie |
8 |
32 |
25.00 |
|
New Milford |
27 |
181 |
14.90 |
|
North Arlington |
34 |
156 |
21.80 |
|
Northern Highlands |
23 |
141 |
16.30 |
|
Northern Valley Regional |
40 |
315 |
12.70 |
|
Northvale |
9 |
55 |
16.40 |
|
Norwood |
15 |
57 |
26.30 |
|
Oakland |
24 |
170 |
14.10 |
|
Old Tappan |
13 |
81 |
16 |
|
Oradell |
14 |
77 |
18.20 |
|
Palisades Park |
34 |
166 |
20.50 |
|
Paramus |
57 |
418 |
13.60 |
|
Park Ridge |
19 |
142 |
13.40 |
|
Pascack Valley Regional |
48 |
208 |
23.10 |
|
Ramapo Indian Hills |
46 |
257 |
17.90 |
|
Ramsey |
59 |
325 |
18.20 |
|
Ridgefield |
29 |
220 |
13.20 |
|
Ridgefield Park |
38 |
216 |
17.60 |
|
Ridgewood |
106 |
509 |
20.80 |
|
River Dell |
32 |
162 |
19.80 |
|
River Edge |
19 |
107 |
17.80 |
|
River Vale |
22 |
126 |
17.50 |
|
Rochelle Park |
15 |
53 |
28.30 |
|
Rutherford |
62 |
240 |
25.80 |
|
Saddle Brook |
36 |
174 |
20.70 |
|
Saddle River |
6 |
31 |
19.40 |
|
S. Bergen Jointure Comm. |
9 |
131 |
6.90 |
|
South Hackensack |
3 |
27 |
11.10 |
|
Teaneck |
84 |
460 |
18.30 |
|
Tenafly |
74 |
387 |
19.10 |
|
Upper Saddle River |
26 |
141 |
18.40 |
|
Waldwick |
31 |
168 |
18.50 |
|
Wallington |
32 |
112 |
28.60 |
|
Westwood Regional |
52 |
272 |
19.10 |
|
Woodcliff Lake |
18 |
90 |
20 |
|
Wood-Ridge |
22 |
100 |
22 |
|
Wyckoff |
47 |
224 |
21 |
|
| |||
|
Passaic County | |||
|
Bloomingdale |
15 |
66 |
22.70 |
|
Clifton |
240 |
975 |
24.60 |
|
Haledon |
17 |
97 |
17.50 |
|
Hawthorne |
63 |
241 |
26.10 |
|
Lakeland Regional |
33 |
120 |
27.50 |
|
Little Falls |
18 |
89 |
20.20 |
|
Manchester Regional |
15 |
80 |
18.80 |
|
North Haledon |
7 |
65 |
10.80 |
|
Passaic |
345 |
1,211 |
28.50 |
|
Passaic City Ed Services |
8 |
41 |
19.50 |
|
Passaic City Vocational |
101 |
326 |
31.00 |
|
Passaic Valley Regional |
28 |
124 |
22.60 |
|
Paterson |
660 |
2,764 |
23.90 |
|
Pompton Lakes |
42 |
185 |
22.70 |
|
Prospect Park |
10 |
80 |
12.50 |
|
Ringwood |
45 |
135 |
33.30 |
|
Totowa |
19 |
98 |
19.40 |
|
Wanaque |
23 |
96 |
24 |
|
Wayne |
174 |
868 |
20 |
|
West Milford |
106 |
401 |
26.40 |
|
Woodland Park |
30 |
101 |
29.70 |
|
|
|
| |
|
Charter districts |
|
| |
|
Bergen Arts and Science |
0 |
31 |
0 |
|
Classical Academy, Clifton |
1 |
10 |
10 |
|
Community Charter, Paterson |
0 |
25 |
0 |
|
Englewood on the Palisades |
1 |
19 |
5.30 |
|
PCSST |
1 |
53 |
1.90 |
|
Teaneck Community Charter |
2 |
32 |
6.30 |
|
Source: New Jersey Department of Education | |||
Press of Atlantic City –‘ New Jersey Education Commissioner Bret Schundler on Thursday encouraged municipal officials to reach out to school union leadership to discuss wage freezes for the 2010-11 school year as a way to reduce property taxes.’
But the New Jersey Education Association is touting a state report that says that even if teachers took the one-year freeze, it would make up only about 20 percent of the school aid shortfall.
Schundler spoke at an online seminar for more than 600 school and municipal officials faced with reviewing school budgets defeated in Tuesday’s election. By law, those budgets now are turned over to municipal governing bodies, which can call for more cuts.
Schundler said the municipal officials, who are not involved in school-contract negotiations, might serve as third-party intermediaries in the discussion.
“They may be able to facilitate,” Schundler said, which led to a comment about municipal officials as “marriage refs” of school budget reviews.
The NJEA has opposed wage freezes and is promoting a state Office of Legislative Services review of the proposed Education budget that said wage freezes and the employee 1.5 percent contribution to health benefits would not fully compensate for the lost aid.
“The governor misled the voters (about the impact of the wage freeze),” NJEA spokesman Steve Wollmer said. He said local union members would lobby municipal governments to make sure they knew a wage freeze would not save all of the jobs proposed as cuts.
Schundler said the state is in a financial emergency and municipal officials should look at all possible options.
The New Jersey School Boards Association, or NJSBA, supports the wage freeze as one possible concession. Spokesman Frank Belluscio said the group welcomes municipal assistance in renegotiating contracts.
“We think reopening negotiations is critical to saving school programs,“ Belluscio said, even if the amount gained does not compensate for all lost aid.
Schundler also said if local school boards appeal cuts made by the municipal government, he would uphold the cuts as long as they do not violate the constitutional requirement that the state provide a thorough education.
“I am not substituting my judgment for yours on particular programs,” he said during the online seminar hosted by the NJSBA and the N.J. League of Municipalities. “But I must make sure a thorough education is provided.”
Asked if music and art would qualify as essential programs, Schundler said he personally believes they are essential but he is not sure if a court would agree.
Schundler said if new money were to become available, districts would be able to reopen budgets and reinstate programs and staff.
A $23 billion federal jobs bill has been proposed to retain teachers at risk of losing jobs nationwide. If approved, it would bring in more than $620 million for New Jersey.
Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello said Wednesday he was concerned about the effects of more lay offs and would bring up a wage freeze as just one option for dealing with the failed Buena Regional School District budget.
Egg Harbor Township Mayor James “Sonny” McCullough, who participated in the online seminar, said he already has heard the local teachers union plans to lobby township committee members on the budget. On Thursday he named a seven-person Citizen Budget Commission to review the municipal and school budgets and make recommendations to save money and cut taxes. The members are Charles Biscieglia, Jack Feinberg, Richard Squires, Christine Martin, James Foley, Karen Santoro and James Walsh. They will meet Monday to review the budgets.
“We’ll make the final decisions,” McCullough said, “but we’re just asking for another set of eyes to look at both budgets.”
Municipal governments have until May 19 to submit revised school tax levies.
Contact Diane D’Amico:609-272-7241
