Districts struggle to pay for programs

By ALISON HERGET
EDUCATION WRITER

The state education forecast for 2009? It won't be raining money on school districts, that's for sure.

"What's going to happen with education in 2009 can be summed up in three words: funding, funding and funding," said Mike Yaple, spokesman for New Jersey School Boards Association. "The broad issue of school funding will have a ripple effect on so many other issues."

Grappling to prepare new state-mandated programs such as expanded preschool, keeping the reins on spending to hold budgets under the 4 percent cap and updating aging facilities are just a few issues that school districts expect to deal with this year. On top of that, many expect teachers will face a tougher time at the bargaining table as the push continues to keep salaries and benefits under control.

But all of these pressures come at a time when school districts are bracing for the worst in the face of the state's economic crisis, wondering how much state funding they'll get, something they won't find out until Gov. Jon S. Corzine makes his annual budget address later this year.

At the NJSBA conference in November where Corzine spoke, the governor said education would be one of the least likely places cuts would be made, but he didn't rule out the possibility that some new initiatives, such as preschool, might have to be delayed until the fiscal climate is more favorable.

However, the forecast may not all be so cloudy.

"This might be one of the years that we see a boost in school construction, because both President-elect (Barack) Obama and Gov. Corzine have said they see school construction as a way to jump start the economy," Yaple said.

A recent survey by the American Association of School Administrators found that the nation's public schools have a list of ready-to-go construction and renovation projects that, with federal economic stimulus funds, would help to improve the economy and education. Nearly 800 superintendents from 48 different states completed the survey, which found $6.52 billion in ready-to-go construction projects.

The top four projects that districts said they would use funding for were: building repair, building renovation, security measures and deferred school construction projects.

With New Jersey mandating that school districts expand preschool programs to income-eligible 3- and 4-year-olds, one of the lingering questions is whether or not the state will have the infusion of money needed to jump start the program.

"All the studies show that preschool benefits," said Assemblyman David W. Wolfe, R-Ocean, who serves on the Assembly Education Committee. "If we had a lot of money, and money wasn't an issue, we could go ahead and do it . . . but I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that we need to put (preschool) on the shelf until we are doing a little bit better financially."

But Mark Van Wagner, president of the Eatontown Board of Education, questioned if the use of preschool in the state's poorest districts, formerly known as Abbotts, is a good gauge for whether or not preschool will be successful in all schools, which serve students from a wider range of economic backgrounds.

"There isn't enough time to make a judgment on its educational value," he said. "It would behoove them (the state) to look at it a couple more years, regardless of the economic climate."

Even with the state providing a set per-pupil cost to each district for eligible students, "it's still an unfunded mandate," he said, because costs like transportation and space for new classrooms, which many districts could be faced with providing, are not covered.

As the push continues for school districts to save money, they are being forced to look at shared services with other districts and municipalities, as well as consolidation and regionalization to cut costs. Proposals must be completed by executive county superintendents by March 2010.

Regionalization "has become an even bigger issue than prior years," said John Amato, principal of Oceanport's Maple Place School. "As communities and school districts collaborate on purchases and services, the benefactors will be students and taxpayers."

But on the federal level, the hot topic is No Child Left Behind, President George W. Bush's landmark education initiative, which likely will see some change when the Obama administration takes over.

"Without a doubt, the most important issue facing the American people and the new Congress will be the passage of NCLB for the Obama team," Amato said. "Without this in place, nothing else will unfold properly. While we can debate a myriad of issues, it all starts with NCLB and how much focus and support the new Congress will give it."

Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, D-Union, chairman of the Assembly education committee, foresees some possible changes at the state level, including modification to the Special Review Assessment, which allows students who have failed the traditional examination needed to graduate high school to receive a diploma.

He also expects that there will be efforts made to reduce the high school dropout rate, an effort that would coincide with a federal initiative to standardize the definition of "dropout rate."

"The dropout rate is the hidden cancer of New Jersey education," he added.