| Property Taxes, School Funding issues | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
PHILADELPHIS INQUIRER: What's next for school formula? With vast implications for a variety of constituencies, Corzine's proposal is likely to face court challenges.
THE RECORD - Ahearn: A good compromise on school funding
TRENTON TIMES - Trenton faces huge school tax increase Group warns of impact from aid formula
NY TIMES - New Jersey Revamps State Aid to Schools
PHILADELPHIS INQUIRER: What's next for school formula?
With vast implications for a variety of constituencies, Corzine's proposal is likely to face court challenges.
By Rita Giordano
Less than a day after Gov. Corzine's school-funding overhaul squeaked through the Legislature, many groups and stakeholders in the plan were already mulling over ways to attempt to challenge or change it.
> Count in that chorus advocates for disadvantaged urban districts, special-education students, taxpayers and suburban schools, for starters.
> "One way or another, there's going to be legal challenges," predicted Paul Tractenberg, chairman of the Education Law Center that represents the Abbott districts.
> Largely urban, the Abbotts have received a disproportionately higher share of state aid, by order of the state Supreme Court. Gov. Corzine has said his aid formula, which lawmakers approved yesterday, and his proposed $530 million in additional school funding would benefit students from low-income households regardless of their zip code.
> Administration officials have said they intend to have the court review the funding formula and they expect that it will pass muster. Yesterday, the state did not yet have a time line for when the court review will happen.
> The Education Law Center, however, is virtually sure to challenge the formula when it gets to court. Yesterday, Tractenberg said the new plan will hurt the Abbott districts, does not require districts to use additional funds to help poor children, and could compromise support for high-performing suburban districts.
> Some of those achieving districts are likely to be lobbying their legislators.
> "We certainly anticipate looking for ways to improve upon [the legislation], make amendments and work with the legislators," said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools which includes many suburban districts.
> One question, she said, is the sustainability of the aid in the legislation.
> Special-education advocates, meanwhile, have voiced concerns that they now hope to work with legislators to get addressed.
> "We believe the bill could be improved and needs to be improved," said Brenda Considine, coordinator for the New Jersey Coalition for Special Education Funding Reform.
> Under the new formula, some districts could receive less funding to cover special-education costs, forcing them to turn to taxpayers to help pay for government-mandated services, Considine said. The problem is not solved by the extra $20 million in special-education aid kicked in Monday night to sway legislators who initially voted against the funding formula, she said.
> And despite the tax-relief provisions in Corzine's plan, New Jersey Taxpayers' Association president Jerry Cantrell wasn't applauding yesterday. He didn't rule out a court challenge.
> With a budget shortfall looming, Cantrell, a former school board president, questioned where the money for the education plan would come from, if not the taxpayers.
> "The taxpayer is still on the hook and a lot of people are arguing over the spoils," he said.
> Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said there are several issues with the formula still to be worked on.
> "I don't think the debate is over by any means," he said. "Once the governor signs it, we're going to see how it works and if there need to be changes."
> Of course, for some districts around the state looking at a projected 20 percent aid increase, the news from Trenton looked good.
> "Black Horse Pike Regional School District stands to gain," said Ralph Ross, superintendent. "I think it's much-needed funds that we've done without."
> While New Jersey argues over what it has done, in Pennsylvania, officials are applauding the Garden State for taking action.
> A study commissioned by the Pennsylvania legislature and released in November says education is underfunded by $4.6 billion.
> School-reform advocates and state policymakers want the General Assembly to act quickly, but the size of the spending gap raises a formidable obstacle. Pennsylvania currently ranks near the bottom nationwide in percentage of state funding for public school education.
> State Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak, in an e-mailed statement yesterday, said he applauded New Jersey for working to equalize funding.
> "The issue is the same in every state in the country - ensuring that every child will receive a quality education regardless of where they live."
> And Donna Cooper, Gov. Rendell's secretary of planning and policy, said: "It certainly is great to have our next-door neighbor showing that . . . the legislature can study the funding formula question, come up with an alternative and pass it in a matter of a few months." She called for the legislature to arrive at a funding formula and a way of implementing it quickly, adding that arriving at a new funding approach is "not a question of time; it's a question of will."
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact staff writer Rita Giordano at 856-779-3841 or rgiordano@phillynews.com.
> Inquirer staff writer Dan Hardy contributed to this article.
The Record - Ahearn: A good compromise on school funding
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
James Ahearn
All in all, it was politics as usual, but a good day's work for the State House.
WITH ONLY TWO votes to spare, the New Jersey Legislature has approved Jon Corzine's massive overhaul of state aid to school districts.
The action Monday was bipartisan. All six Democratic Senate members of the Legislative Black Caucus voted against it. The slim majorities for passage in each chamber included other Democrats and some suburban Republicans whose districts stood to benefit.
A last-minute promise by the governor of additional aid for special education was the deciding factor for several.
Urban advocates threaten to appeal to the state Supreme Court, which over the years has directed so much additional aid to city districts that many spend as much or more per pupil as the richest suburbs, with little local tax effort.
Justices likely will agree
Corzine says that he does not fear a court challenge, that the new apportionment is in fact fairer than the old one. As a matter of law and equity, he is right, and there's a good chance a majority of the present justices will agree.
Their predecessors on the court ruled decades ago in favor of the so-called Abbott districts, the 31 neediest in the state, as a convenience. The state Education Department had classified each of the 600 districts according to household income, education and employment status, with the least-advantaged on the bottom and the most-advantaged on the top.
Informed of the existence of this rating system, the court seized upon it, ruling that while money was not the sole factor in school performance, adequate resources were essential, and the bottom group in the ratings, the one that included Newark and Camden, Paterson and Union City, was needy beyond dispute.
However, the Abbott districts do not have a monopoly on hardship. In fact, as Corzine points out, half of the poorest children in the state, those who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, do not live in the Abbott districts. Many live in neighboring, older suburbs like Wallington and Prospect Park.
The new school aid formula does not divide the state into two groups, Abbotts, which presently receive more than half of all state aid, and non-Abbotts. Instead, it apportions aid according to the education need of pupils and their families, no matter where they live.
A child with limited English facility, or a developmental disability, or whose family is poor, will get extra points for state aid. Neither he nor his family will receive it directly, of course. The money will go to the school district.
The formula will also take into account the wealth, in income and taxable property, of the district. For example, a rich town will not receive as much aid per pupil for special education as will towns less well off. That seems only fair.
' Lighthouse' districts
More problematic is a provision affecting districts that spend more than what the state calculates to be necessary for an adequate education. There are many such districts, including those regarded as the most successful, the so-called "lighthouse" districts.
The provision requires that when aid to such a district rises by more than 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is higher, the district will have to pass the excess on to property owners in tax relief. This will be a double whammy for a number of districts.
Not only will their aid be cut, but if they try to make up the difference by raising property taxes, they may bump up against a state-imposed cap on spending.
They will complain, and not without cause. Some reasonable accommodation seems warranted. Now that the new formula is about to become law, the governor will be under no pressure to give away the store to quiet the clamor.
The bill is 113 pages long and fiendishly complicated. Even the usually brief explanatory statement runs a dense nine pages. In the Assembly, the bill passed without a vote to spare, 41 to 36. In the Senate, the president of the chamber, Richard Codey, had to keep the tally board open for three hours Monday night when the vote stuck at 20 in favor and 19 against. The minimum for passage is 21 ayes.
There ensued, on the Senate floor, an impromptu briefing on the bill's special-education sections for a dozen senators. A reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer likened the scene to "a Norman Rockwell painting of democracy in action."
Eventually, three Republicans, including Gerald Cardinale of Demarest, switched their votes from no to yes. Cardinale was won over by a promise by the governor to provide an additional $50 million for special education.
All in all, it was politics as usual, but a good day's work for the State House.
James Ahearn is former managing editor of The Record. Send comments about this column to The Record at letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com.
Trenton faces huge school tax increase
Group warns of impact from aid formula
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
BY LISA RICH
TRENTON -- An estimated $40 million in state aid that Trenton public schools might have received over three years will instead be diverted to wealthier districts under the new school funding formula adopted by the Legislature on Monday, according to an education advocacy group.
As a result, city taxpayers face an increase of nearly 58 percent in their school property tax rate over three years, or $615 for the average homeowner, said David Sciarra, president of the Education Law Center (ELC).
A homeowner with a house assessed at the city average of $100,000 currently pays $1,080 in school taxes. By 2011, that homeowner will pay $1,695, according to the ELC's latest report.
"The problem spreads across the board to most Abbott districts, but in Trenton particularly, the picture is very, very grim," Sciarra said. "Trenton will fare worse than most others in the state."
Under Gov. Jon Corzine's $7.8 billion school funding plan, every district in the state will receive an increase in funding this year, ranging from a minimum 2 percent to a maximum 20 percent. Trenton's increase will be 2 percent.
However, the formula shows that starting in 2009, most Abbott districts, including Trenton, will receive flat funding -- meaning no increases in aid from year to year.
In 1998, the ELC won its fight for a change in the state school funding formula. As a result, more than half of the state's education dollars have since been allotted to Abbott districts.
Sciarra said the impact of the new funding plan, which shifts the bulk of the state aid to middle- and upper-income districts, would be devastating for Trenton and the 30 other districts deemed as the state's poorest.
Working with Assemblyman Jo seph Vas, D-Perth Amboy, the state's Office of Legislative Services has recently determined that 24 out of 31 Abbott districts will not receive increases in school funding through 2011 -- which Sciarra said will cause hikes in school taxes, ranging from 4.9 percent in Salem City to a 140 percent in Camden.
Trenton is already projecting a municipal tax increase of 5.2 percent under Mayor Douglas Palmer's proposed budget of $196 million.
"This school funding formula is just unacceptable," Palmer said. "Our residents can't afford it. To think that in Trenton local taxpayers are going to make up for the cost of education is not realistic."
Adding that the lack of additional aid will "be severely felt," Palmer said he plans on working with the ELC and other Abbott districts to possibly contest the new formula in court.
The state's habit of heavily funding Abbott schools started more than a decade ago, following the Abbott vs. Burke rulings in which the courts stated that the state's poorest schools had been significantly underfunded for years.
"As a result, we see a really badly out-of-balance system in terms of resources and what's being distributed," said Education Commissioner Lucille Davy. "We have to bring that to a halt now."
For city resident Juan Martinez, the state's approval of the new for mula ends a much-needed "fight to save the city's schools."
On Monday, Martinez joined more than 100 protesters from Ab bott districts across the state, including Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Asbury Park. Together, the protesters rallied against the formula, demanding that the legislators unanimously reject Corzine's plan.
"This formula, unconstitutional in its nature, fails to solve our state property tax problem and it will be devastating for us," said Martinez, a Trenton parent liaison and chairman of the CHANGE coalition.
Trenton Superintendent Rod ney Lofton has already warned that the new formula will undoubtedly lead to cuts in programs, staff and services.
"There is no question it will definitely force us to make cuts in programs, possibly staff. But at this point, we're hoping they can be minimal," Lofton said. "There are some initiatives I've begun that I sincerely hope do not have to be cut because of this."
Most of Trenton's aid must go toward math, literacy and science programs, in addition to special needs and increased staff. As a re sult, the district takes on more ex penses in salaries and health benefits, and courses such as music and physical education are watered down, he said.
Additionally, Lofton said, new tutoring programs and online services, including one to establish a districtwide curriculum, may not pan out as planned due to the minimal state funding.
Contact Lisa Rich at lrich@njti mes.com or (609) 989-5692.
NEW YORK TIMES - January 8, 2008
New Jersey Revamps State Aid to Schools
TRENTON — After a tense three-hour stalemate, legislators handed Gov. Jon S. Corzine a dramatic political victory on Monday night when they approved his $7.8 billion plan to revamp New Jersey’s formula of financing the state’s public schools.
After the Legislature threw in an extra $20 million for special education with his approval, Mr. Corzine, a Democrat, was able to sway three Republican senators and overcome opposition from urban lawmakers.
The plan is designed to direct more money to children who live outside the poorest districts, which now receive more than half of all state aid.
If the plan survives the scrutiny of the State Supreme Court, which Mr. Corzine will seek, the state would apportion funds to schools based on demographics, including family income, population growth, language ability and special academic needs.
Under the formula, education spending would increase by an estimated $532.8 million the first year, with all districts receiving at least a 2 percent increase for the next three years, and some receiving as much as 20 percent more.
But for hours, the fate of the bill — and by extension, a major pillar of Mr. Corzine’s agenda — was uncertain.
With the legislative session due to close on Tuesday at noon, the bill stalled initially in the Senate when six Democrats joined 13 Republicans to freeze the vote at 20-19 in favor of the bill, one vote shy of the majority needed.
So for the next three hours, Democratic and Republican supporters of the bill surrounded one colleague after another who had initially voted no, hoping to change minds.
The drama yielded moments of pure political theater and high-stakes brinkmanship. At one point, at least 15 senators huddled in the middle of the Senate floor, not unlike the way baseball players, anxious, huddle around the pitcher’s mound.
At another point, Assemblyman Joseph R. Malone III, a Republican who was part of a 41-36 majority that approved the bill in the Assembly earlier in the evening, wandered down the hall to the Senate. He escorted Senator Martha W. Bark, a fellow Republican who had voted no, to his office, fueling speculation that he was trying to win her over.
But in the end, it was something much simpler — a promise, with Mr. Corzine’s approval, of an additional $20 million for special education in next year’s budget — that compelled Ms. Bark and two other Republicans, Senator Gerald Cardinale and Senator Joseph A. Palaia, to switch their votes.
“I’m jubilant,” said Senator Barbara Buono, a Democrat from Metuchen who was the bill’s sponsor, and who helped to craft the compromise. “This is the way it’s supposed to work.”
Mr. Corzine said in a statement: “The new law replaces a flawed system with an equitable, balanced, and nonpartisan formula that addresses the needs of all students, regardless of where they live. This formula puts the needs of all children on an equal footing, and will give them the educational resources they need for success.”
The vote on school financing capped a frenetic final day of the legislative session. With the two houses meeting simultaneously, the corridors of the State House teemed with lobbyists, reporters, educators and other interest groups until 11 p.m.
Among the dozens of measures that passed on Monday, the two chambers overwhelmingly approved bills authorizing a formal state apology for New Jersey’s role in slavery. New Jersey, the last Northern state to abolish slavery, became the first Northern state to apologize for it.
The two chambers also passed bills to increase judicial salaries, offer tax credits for businesses that invest in urban transit areas and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Assembly also approved a bill, previously passed by the Senate, to toughen the state’s hate crime and bullying laws.
Those legislators who will continue serving when the next session begins on Tuesday will not have much time to catch their breath.
A few hours after they are sworn in, Mr. Corzine is scheduled to outline in his State of the State address his long-simmering proposal to squeeze more money out of the state’s toll roads. He is expected to call on the Legislature to approve his idea of selling billions of dollars worth of bonds that would be backed by higher tolls on the state’s three toll roads, the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway.
But on Monday, the focus was education, which for the last two decades has largely been guided by a landmark State Supreme Court ruling, Abbott v. Burke, which found that students in poor and urban districts were not receiving the same education as their counterparts in wealthier ones, and therefore deserved a bigger percentage of the state’s aid to schools.
Those who opposed Mr. Corzine’s bill did so for a variety of reasons, including the sense that it was being rushed through, or that it threatened to cut funding to poor urban districts. All six Senate members of the Legislative Black Caucus opposed the bill.
“They don’t want the middle class suburban schools to examine this formula, not in terms of what it takes from Abbott, but what it takes from us,” said Senator Nia H. Gill, a Democrat from Montclair.
After the vote, Senate President Richard J. Codey summed up the relief felt by the bill’s supporters when he grabbed Joseph V. Doria Jr., Mr. Corzine’s commissioner of community affairs, who until recently had been a Senate colleague.
“Joe, it’s like delivering a baby,” Mr. Codey joked. “It’s painful, but it’s worth it.”
Jeremy Peters contributed reporting.
