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Passage of the bills out of committee will set the stage for a floor voted next Monday in both the Assembly and the Senate. If both houses pass the bill then, the bill will go to the Governor for his signature. Once the bill is signed, it will become law................................................................................................... GSCS NOTES January 3, 2008: 1. Hearings are proceeding in Trenton today in the Senate and Assembly Budget committees on A500/Roberts and S4000/Buono, the new school funding formula legislation. As of last night the bills were still unavailable for public review. While the hearing room is packed with those who have concerns on the proposal, the Senate Budget Committee (10 a.m. hearing) has decided not to allow public testimony; only Commissioner Davy is invited to appear before the committee today; the testimony process in the afternoon Assembly Budget Committee is not certain at this point – it remains to be seen how it will be handled when that committee meeting starts at 2 p.m.
2. GSCS continues to work hard to bring its voice and concerns to Trenton. GSCS President Dan Fishbein/Glen Ridge and Board President Betsy Ginsburg/Glen Ridge are in Trenton today with prepared testimony re GSCS major issues on the bill.
Click on More below for 1)Attorney General's opinion & response to Governor Corzine re whether the school funding proposal should pass constitutional muster, and 2)news articles on the hearings and related controversies from today.
GSCS NOTES January 3, 2008:
1. Hearings are proceeding in Trenton today in the Senate and Assembly Budget committees on A500/Roberts and S4000/Buono, the new school funding formula legislation. As of last night the bills were still unavailable for public review. While the hearing room is packed with those who have concerns on the proposal, the Senate Budget Committee (10 a.m. hearing) has decided not to allow public testimony; only Commissioner Davy is invited to appear before the committee today; the testimony process in the afternoon Assembly Budget Committee is not certain at this point – it remains to be seen how it will be handled when that committee meeting starts at 2 p.m.
2. GSCS continues to work hard to bring its voice and concerns to Trenton. GSCS President Dan Fishbein/Glen Ridge and Board President Betsy Ginsburg/Glen Ridge are in Trenton today with prepared testimony re GSCS major issues on the bill.
School funding bill up for vote today
By JONATHAN TAMARI
Gannett State Bureau
A $7.8 billion school funding bill unveiled two weeks ago is expected to be considered by both legislative budget committees today, even though the heads of the Senate and Assembly education committees each criticized the plan, saying it doesn't do enough for needy school districts and may not be able to win Supreme Court approval.
"If I had my way, we would probably be having more discussion as opposed to putting the bill up tomorrow," said Assemblyman Craig Stanley, D-Essex, chairman of the Assembly Education Committee. "Some had maintained that this isn't a rushed process, but certainly under normal circumstances I would imagine the bill would have gone through the Assembly Education Committee."
Stanley raised concerns that the bill does not provide enough money to the poor, urban school districts that rely on additional state aid.
The plan is on track for Senate and Assembly budget committee votes today with final floor votes on the complex bill expected Monday.
The chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer, said the 2 percent aid increases for many school districts won't do enough to offset property taxes.
"This formula does not address the real problem, the number one problem, and that is our over reliance on property taxes to pay the cost of education," Turner said.
The two education panels did get to question Education Commissioner Lucille Davy on the new plan, including a nearly 11-hour hearing during a rare session between Christmas and New Year's Day.
But Turner and Stanley seem to be outnumbered, as other lawmakers urge approval of a plan that would route aid infusions of 10 percent or more to roughly half of the state's school districts. The proposal would add about $530 million in new state spending this year to help schools, largely in middle-class districts whose aid has lagged while their enrollments and needs have grown.
"It is a tremendous leap in the right direction," said Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Camden, chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee.
Republicans Monday said they planned to offer amendments that would limit aid increases to urban schools that currently receive more than half of all state aid and ensure more help for other schools. The GOP called for a minimum 3.5 percent aid hike for every school district; currently every district is provided a minimum 2 percent hike.
Republicans said any aid increases should be paid for with spending cuts.
GOVERNOR CORZINE RECEIVES OPINION ON SCHOOL FUNDING FORMULA
TRENTON – Governor Jon S. Corzine yesterday received the following letter from Attorney General Anne Milgram regarding the constitutionality of the proposed school funding formula:
January 2, 2008
Kenneth H. Zimmerman,
Chief Counsel
State Of New Jersey
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625—0001
Re: Department of Education Proposed Funding Formula
Dear Mr. Zimmerman:
You have asked whether the Department of Education’s (Department) proposal for a new school funding formula, if enacted, would meet the requirements of the Thorough and Efficient Clause of the New Jersey Constitution. N.J. Const., Art VIII, §4, ¶1. Our office has spent considerable time analyzing that issue as the Department was developing its proposal. For the following reasons, it is our opinion that the proposed funding formula is consistent with the requirements of the Thorough and Efficient Clause and, therefore, is constitutional.
By way of background, the Department has been in the process of developing a new funding formula for several years. As part of that process, the Department established panels of educators (Professional Judgment Panels or PJPs) to assist in determining a set of school district resources that would be sufficient for students to meet the State’s academic performance standards. These resources included those needed to meet the special educational needs of disadvantaged children. Report on the Cost of Education (December 2006)’. In addition, the Department retained a panel of education experts, including Dr. Allan Odden, to review those resources. The experts were asked to opine, based on their research and experience, on the sufficiency of the resources in meeting the educational needs of students. All three reviewers expressed general support for the panels’ recommendations. Final Report on the Reviews of the ReDort on the Cost of, Education in New Jersey, Dr. Allan Odden (February 2007) (Odden Report). Furthermore, the Department enhanced and revised the formula based on the experts’ recommendations and public comments and, in consultation with an advisory panel comprised of different educational experts, finalized a proposal. That proposal was made public on December 14, 2007.
A Formula for Success: All Children, All Communities.
The New Jersey Supreme Court has defined the Thorough and Efficient Clause as requiring “a certain level of educational opportunity, a minimum level, that will equip the student to become ‘a citizen and ... a competitor in the labor market.’” Abbott v. Burke, 119 N.J. 287, 306 (1990) (Abbott II), citing Robinson v. Cahill, 62 N.J. 473, 515 (1973) (Robinson I). In addition, the Court has recognized that certain students hare particular disadvantages that may require the provision of additional programs and services to have that opportunity. Abbott v. Burke, 136 N.J. 444, 453—454 (1994) (Abbott fl) . Thus, to meet the constitutional mandate, a funding formula must support the resources necessary for students to attain that level of educational opportunity and support those additional educational resources that disadvantaged students require. Abbott v. Burke, 149 N.J. 145, 179—180 (1997) (Abbott IV).
The Legislature defined the level of educational opportunity necessary for a thorough and efficient education in the Comprehensive Education Improvement and Financing Act (CEIFA), N.J.S.A. 18A:7F-1 g., through the establishment of Core Curriculum Content Standards (standards or State standards). Those standards were upheld as constitutional by the Court in Abbott IV. 149 N.J. at 168. The Department’s new proposal, developed by practitioners and validated by experts, contains the components necessary to provide the opportunity for all public school students, regardless of their disadvantages, to achieve those standards. Specifically, the proposal identifies the educational resources necessary for students to meet the standards and the additional educational resources to provide that same opportunity to at-risk and limited English proficient (LEP) students. The proposal then determines the cost to provide those educational resources and allocates that cost between the State and local district, an allocation that the Court has found permissible as a means of funding a constitutionally adequate education.
Robinson v. Cahill, 69 N.J. 449, 458 (1976) (Robinson V) see also Abbott II, 119 N.J. at 388. As such, the Department’s proposed formula comports with the definition of the Thorough and Efficient Clause and, therefore, we believe that if enacted, it would be constitutional.
You have informed us that questions were raised at a recent legislative hearing as to whether the proposed funding formula is sufficient to meet the particular needs of students in the Abbott districts. More specifically, questions have arisen because the Department’s proposal does not contain certain fiscal remedies ordered by the Supreme Court after finding that previous funding formulas were unconstitutional as applied to the Abbott districts. See, e.c., Abbott v. Burke, 153 N.J. 480 (1998) (Abbott V) (the Court ordered specific educational programs, positions ana services be provided in the Abbott districts and that those districts could seek additional funds to meet the particularized needs of their students, i.e., the “supplemental funding” remedy); Abbott IV, 149 N.J. 145 (1997) (holding that CEIFA was unconstitutional as applied to the Abbott districts and ordering that the State provide increased funding to those districts to ensure the ability to spend a per-pupil amount equal to the average level of per-pupil spending in the wealthiest districts, i.e., the “parity” remedy) . also Abbott v. Burke, 177 N.J. 578 (2003) (Abbott X) (modifying Abbott V and making all programs, positions and services a needs-based determination but maintaining the ability of Abbott districts to seek supplemental funding). Since the proposal by the Department does not require parity funding or permit requests for supplemental funding by the Abbott districts, members of the Legislature have asked if the proposal would meet constitutional requirements.
We do not believe that parity and supplemental funding are necessary elements of a constitutional funding formula as long as the formula provides sufficient resources for all students, regardless of disadvantages, to achieve State standards. As the Court noted in Abbott IV, the parity remedy was viewed as an interim step because of the absence of any validation that the base per-pupil amount in CEIFA -- the T&E amount -- was sufficient to meet State standards for students in the Abbott districts. 148 N.J. at 191. The base per-pupil amount in the new proposal, however, has been validated as sufficient to meet those standards through the use of the PJPs and the subsequent expert panel review by Dr. Odden and his colleagues.
In addition, supplemental funding was designed to ensure sufficient funds to• meet the special needs of disadvantaged students in the Abbott districts. As noted in the Odden Report, the proposed formula (as subsequently enhanced and revised by the Department) provides for an adequacy budget that can support all of the resources in the illustrative school budget from Abbott V and enhanced versions of whole schoOl reform models. Importantly, these resources are available for disadvantaged students whether or not they reside in an Abbott district. Moreover, the adequacy budget is increased by an at-risk and an LEP weight beyond that necessary to support the PJP—identified educational resources for these students. For at—risk students, the weight increases as the concentration of poverty grows. The adequacy budget, therefore, provides significant additional per—pupil resources for disadvantaged students that can be used to meet those students’ particularized needs.
Given the above, we believe that if the Department’s funding proposal is enacted it will meet the requirements of the Thorough and Efficient Clause of the New Jersey Constitution.
Sincerely yours,
Anne Milgram
ttorney General of New Jersey
School districts split on aid plan timing
Some favor passage by lame duck Legislature
Thursday, January 03, 2008
BY LISA RICH AND RYAN TRACY
School officials in Mercer County are in disagreement over whether the lame-duck Legislature should approve the governor's proposed $7.8 billion school funding formula before the next session begins in six days.
Under Gov. Jon Corzine's school aid plan, every district in New Jersey could expect an increase in state funding, ranging from a minimum 2 percent to a maximum 20 percent.
School officials in Mercer County have given mixed reactions to the plan, but in Hamilton and Trenton there is a consensus: Act sooner rather than later.
"To me, it would seem the current Legislature has the most knowledge" about the aid formula, said Hamilton Superintendent Neil Bencivengo, who expressed support for the school aid bill that could pass by noon Tuesday, when the current Legislature comes to an end.
If approved, Hamilton schools would receive the maximum 20 percent increase in aid.
Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said the old funding formula has neglected districts such as Hamilton because the state's plan did not adequately account for enrollment growth and wealth.
"As a result, we see a really badly out-of-balance system in terms of resources and what's being distributed," Davy said. "We have to bring that to a halt now. This Legislature knows more about school funding than ever before, and if it's not passed now, we have to start from scratch with new faces."
But in East Windsor -- which would get a 10 percent increase over last year --Superintendent Ronald Bolandi said rushing to pass the bill could be the worst decision.
"It's foolish to rush for the sake of rushing," Bolandi said. "I don't even quite understand this bill yet, and it makes me question just how much the Legislature gets it. I'm concerned we're going to hurry through a law and regret it later."
That concern is shared in Lawrence, which would receive the minimum 2 percent increase.
School officials there are attending a budget workshop today in hopes of getting more information, said Superintendent Philip Meara.
"Honestly, at this point, we don't have enough information to recommend passage," Meara said. "We don't know the specifics of the funding formula, and we have our concerns."
Even districts with large proposed increases, like Hamilton, are "digging to see if there are any restrictions that come with the aid package," acknowledged Bencivengo. "We haven't been able to unwrap the present to see what's inside."
If passed by the Legislature, the proposed formula would alter the state's tradition of pumping the majority of funds into poor Abbott districts.
Instead, heftier increases would be given to middle-class districts, such as Hamilton, that have received minimal funding in years past, and thus, have burdened their homeowners with continually rising school taxes.
In Trenton, school officials said they are moving forward with their budget process under the assumption that the aid figures will be approved.
Under the plan, Trenton would receive the minimum 2 percent increase -- an amount that Superintendent Rodney Lofton has criticized as inadequate because the aid does not match the increases in fixed expenses. As a result, he said, the district would be forced to cut programs for the second year in a row.
But even so, Lofton said, waiting to approve the funding formula would make things worse.
"At this point, we have to assume that what's been presented is what's actually going to pass," Lofton said. "We have to think that way in order to get our budgets in on time."
Districts must have their budgets submitted by Feb. 15, according to state law.
Hamilton's school business administrator, Carol Chiacchio, has also acknowledged the need to start the budget process, especially in terms of stabilizing taxes in an already strapped district.
"These types of (budgeting) decisions can only be made when we know exactly how much money we have," Chiacchio said, adding that delays force districts to scramble to get the budget in order. "It would be wonderful to have a year that we get (notification) earlier in the process."
The new funding formula comes at a challenging time for the Robbinsville School District, which filed suit last year against the state, claiming its school funding is discriminatory. Under Corzine's plan, Robbinsville would receive the maximum 20 percent increase.
Officials in Robbinsville did not want to comment on the new formula or the lawsuit.
Davy said the state's decision to shift more dollars to upper- and middle-class districts was years in the making.
"We began this discussion almost two years ago, and frankly, it's something that's long overdue," Davy said.
Contact Lisa Rich at lrich@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5692. Contact Ryan Tracy at rtracy@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5723.
Lawmakers seek to advance Corzine's school aid plan TOM HESTER Jr. The Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey legislators will try Thursday to push forward Gov. Jon S. Corzine's proposed new public school funding plan meant to send more money to rural and suburban school districts battling rising property taxes. Assembly and Senate budget committees have scheduled hearings on the plan to send more state aid to schools with growing enrollments and many low-income students. Democrats, who control the Legislature, hope it can be approved and sent to the full Assembly and Senate for final votes on Monday, the last day of the legislative session. "This is a formula that follows the basic principle that children with greater needs deserve greater resources," state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said. Republicans say Democrats are rushing the plan without proper review and question whether it would indeed help the rural and suburban districts. "This clearly is a highly complex formula, and I don't believe the Legislature will have enough time to responsibly study and understand this bill," said Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce, R-Morris. Corzine has been lobbying legislators to back the plan. Under the plan, the 31 poverty-stricken districts that have received extra financial help under a state Supreme Court ruling wouldn't see the same hefty aid increases they've typically received, but other districts , locales like North Brunswick and Pennsauken , would get 20 percent more from the state for next school year. Every district would get a state aid increase of at least 2 percent for next year, and no school would see its allocation decrease for at least three years. The plan comes after most school districts saw scant state aid increases this decade, forcing them to rely more on property taxes that are America's highest at $6,330 per homeowner, twice the national average. Republicans are vowing to try to amend the bill. They want new to make additional school funding dependent upon spending cuts, not tax or toll increases. They also want to cap aid increases at 3.5 percent for poor districts that have received extra state funding and give at least 3.5 percent aid increases to other schools throughout the state. "It is vitally important that we get the school funding formula right the first time," said Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance, R-Hunterdon. But Corzine said the plan "gives all of our children in all of our communities the opportunity to succeed." "It is balanced, unified and equitable and it provides significant relief to local property taxpayers, who for decades have shouldered the important yet growing cost of education," Corzine said. |
