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2-15-13 Education Issues in the News
NJ Spotlight - Democrats to Christie: Rethink Changes to School-Funding Formula…Party-line vote demonstrates strength in numbers, but with budget just weeks away, can Democrats hold the line? “…With the Democrats opposing some of the changes to extra aid or so-called funding “weights” that would be allotted for the neediest students, the Christie administration has 30 days to revise the adequacy report. But the law does not specify the process beyond that, and with the state budget presentation just two weeks away, most legislators interviewed yesterday said that this is where the differences will need to be worked out…”

Press of Atlantic City - New Jersey schools hurt by Sandy to share $1.25 million in federal grants

NJ Spotlight - For NJ Early Education Advocates, State of the Union Carries Hopeful Message…President's call for universal preschool for needy children resonates with state's Abbott v. Burke school equity funding

NJ Spotlight - Democrats to Christie: Rethink Changes to School-Funding Formula…Party-line vote demonstrates strength in numbers, but with budget just weeks away, can Democrats hold the line? “…With the Democrats opposing some of the changes to extra aid or so-called funding “weights” that would be allotted for the neediest students, the Christie administration has 30 days to revise the adequacy report. But the law does not specify the process beyond that, and with the state budget presentation just two weeks away, most legislators interviewed yesterday said that this is where the differences will need to be worked out…”

 

 

By John Mooney, in Education

 

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As expected, Assembly Democrats yesterday passed a joint resolution opposing the Christie administration’s suggested revisions to the state’s school-funding formula, passing the proposed plan back with a list of changes of their own.

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Joint Resolution S-134

Education Adequacy Report

What's going to happen next is unclear, although the conflict is a good indicator of what's likely to be one of the main sticking points when Gov. Chris Christie releases his state budget at the end of the month.

The joint resolution passed the Assembly yesterday by a 47-30 vote along party lines and with virtually no discussion. The state Senate passed it the week before by a similar margin.

The primary sponsor, state Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer), did not speak at all beyond making the motion. There was just one voice of opposition: state Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-Morris).

At the heart of the clash is a process that has not been invoked before, one outlined in the state’s five-year-old School Funding Reform Act approved by the state Supreme Court in its most recent Abbott v. Burke rulings. Essentially, the state can request adjustments to the funding formula every three years through the Education Adequacy Report. But the adjustments must be supported by the Legislature if they are to become final.

With the Democrats opposing some of the changes to extra aid or so-called funding “weights” that would be allotted for the neediest students, the Christie administration has 30 days to revise the adequacy report.

But the law does not specify the process beyond that, and with the state budget presentation just two weeks away, most legislators interviewed yesterday said that this is where the differences will need to be worked out.

“I think for some members of the Democratic caucus, there is a sentiment that we are going back to the old debate where the large urban districts subject to the Abbott decision should be entitled to what the court said,” said Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver (D-Essex).

“We felt the Adequacy Report was an effort to skirt around what the court laid down,” she said in an interview.

Oliver acknowledged that time is short and she's gotten no indication of what the governor is planning. “But let us work in a compromising fashion to fully fund the formula,” she said.

Oliver and others from both parties said yesterday that another big factor in the debate is the makeup of the state Supreme Court, which has nearly 40 years history with school equity and almost certainly is not done with the topic.

Christie has openly said he wants to remake the court to reverse or at least scale back what he calls activist rulings. He has two nominations now pending before the court.

“The biggest challenge is probably the future of the Supreme Court and where it will come down on this issue,” said state Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Union), the Republican minority leader in the Assembly. “That is over all of this. Whatever we do with school funding, the question will be whether the court will find it constitutional.”

The Education Law Center, the advocacy group leading the Abbott litigation, has closely monitored the back and forth over the adequacy report.

“Now that the Legislature has passed the resolution objecting to the new funding weights, it would create a real concern if the administration didn’t revise the report to address those objections,” said David Sciarra, the ELC’s director.

But other legislative leaders weren’t so sure what would happen. State Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson), chairman of the Assembly’s budget committee, acknowledged that the Democrats all but gave the administration a pass last year on what were similar changes in school funding to districts.

The Legislature ultimately rejected the language for the changes but still approved the final aid numbers. And he said with deep revenue crisis facing the state, there will be little wiggle room.

“We will need to be mindful and see what the governor brings to the table,” he said. “This will be interesting to see.

“In the point of view of the revenues coming in, it could be a difficult year,” Prieto said. “But we are adamant that these districts where the students are the most vulnerable, the money needs to get there.”


NJSpotlight (http://s.tt/1zOI9)

 

Press of Atlantic City - New Jersey schools hurt by Sandy to share $1.25 million in federal grants

Posted: Thursday, February 14, 2013 5:11 pm | Updated: 8:22 am, Fri Feb 15, 2013.

New Jersey schools affected by Hurricane Sandy will share $1.25 million in federal grants to assist with recovery efforts, the U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday.

The Project School Emergency Response to Violence funds must be used for education-related services including mental-health assessments, leasing of space to replaced damaged schools, emergency transportation, temporary security measures, and overtime pay for teachers, counselors and security or other staff.

New Jersey Department of Education spokesman Barbara Morgan said the department will issue guidelines for which districts and municipalities will be eligible to apply and what the funds can be used for.

Local schools that had extensive damage include Stone Harbor, Long Beach Island and Beach Haven. Several other shore area districts had transportation costs to bring in children from families that were housed in mainland hotels after the storm.

Grants were also awarded to New York City, which got $1 million, and New York State and Connecticut, which each got $500,000.

Contact Diane D'Amico:

609-272-7241

 

NJ Spotlight - For NJ Early Education Advocates, State of the Union Carries Hopeful Message…President's call for universal preschool for needy children resonates with state's Abbott v. Burke school equity funding

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By John Mooney, February 15, 2013 in Education|Post a Comment

 

When President Obama in his State of the Union address called for universal quality preschool for children of need, his proposal wasn’t too far from what New Jersey has been trying for a decade.

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The state’s Abbott v. Burke school equity rulings -- despite continuing controversy -- specify two years of preschool with certified teachers, small class sizes, and other quality standards in the state’s most impoverished cities.

This year, more than 45,200 three- and four-year olds were served by the state-funded program in 31 districts, including Newark, Paterson, and Camden -- as well as four others receiving full funding under an expansion of the program launched in 2008.

Partial funding went to another 110 districts, covering an additional 7,400 four-year olds with at least half-day programs, the state said.

“Certainly our standards would make us eligible for what the president is proposing,” said Steve Barnett, director of the http://nieer.org/National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University.

And if federal money is forthcoming, Barnett said it would be especially fitting for New Jersey, given that its efforts to expand beyond the Abbott districts have slowed, if not stopped, since 2009 due to budget constraints.

“It’s not entirely clear what they are proposing yet, but New Jersey would fit the bill, especially since we have basically stalled since the recession,” Barnett said.

Obama’s call clearly emboldened early education advocates in New Jersey and nationwide, with his pledge for federal assistance of as much as $10 billion a year toward not only preschool but also full-day kindergarten.

The state currently only requires half-day kindergarten; fewer than 360 of 511 districts provide full-day kindergarten. The rest are either half-day programs or a combination of half- and full-day classes, some due to budget constraints, others due to space and scheduling limitations.

State Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-Bergen) is primary sponsor of a pending bill to require full-day kindergarten statewide, and she said yesterday that Obama’s call couldn’t have come at a better time.

“We have to have universal access for all students to full-time kindergarten, regardless of ZIP code,” Wagner said. “I know saying it and putting in place for next year is unrealistic, but we have to develop a plan.”

Wagner said it may not come down as a mandate, but she believes that there needs to be at least strong financial incentives, including the possibility of federal money.

“What people don’t realize is that it is many middle-class towns that don’t have [full-day kindergarten],” she said. “Once people realize the need and that we don’t have full-day kindergarten for everybody, I think there will be a lot of support for that.”

The Christie administration didn't have much to say about Obama’s proposal, beyond putting out the most recent data on enrollment and funding. But state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf has repeatedly said that preschool remains one of the state’s most effective investments.

Gov. Chris Christie himself hasn’t always been so sympathetic, but he has maintained funding in his past two budgets, while appropriating $591 million this year, the administration said. His budget for next year will come at the end of the month.

David Sciarra of the Education Law Center, the advocacy group that led the Abbott litigation, said Obama’s echo of New Jersey’s standards should serve as a “proud moment” for the state. But he concurred that it will take both state and federal resources to reach all low-income students.

Barnett said the state was indeed once a national leader under Abbott, although others have started to catch up and surpass it.

“We don’t compare nearly as well as we did five years ago,” he said. “Others have passed us by. Iowa went from below us to twice as many in preschool.”