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Pals think mayor's staying put
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
By RONALD LEIR
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
If Joseph V. Doria Jr. will be trading in his job as mayor of Bayonne for a Cabinet post or key advisory position in Gov. Jon Corzine's administration, he wasn't saying so yesterday.
Doria couldn't be reached yesterday to comment on reports that the longtime state lawmaker - whose other job as state senator will expire in January - is being considered as the new education commissioner or as an advisor on educational funding.
Nicholas Chiaravalloti, whose 31st District Assembly Democratic Primary campaign had Doria's endorsement, said Doria told him yesterday that a published report about his pending appointment "was not accurate, and I take Joe at his word."
First Ward Councilman Ted Connolly doesn't believe Doria's going anywhere.
"I talked with him just a few days ago about all the rumors going on and he told me that as long as his health remains OK, he planned to serve out the remainder of his term, and he's always been honest with me."
Assemblywoman Joan Quigley, D-Jersey City, who was attending a North Brunswick luncheon yesterday, said there were "a lot of legislative agents here and they were all buzzing" with the news about Doria's alleged job prospects.
"Everyone realizes (Doria's) got an interest in education, but there's still a lot of speculation about the political ramifications for the people in Bayonne if he left as mayor," Quigley said.
Doria, who served many years as a member of the Bayonne Board of Education and as an administrator at St. Peter's College, Jersey City, before switching over to municipal and state government duties, teaches a graduate course on politics in government at Rutgers University. A few years ago, he was considered a candidate for the presidency of Ramapo College.
"Everybody at City Hall is talking about it," said Second Ward Councilman John Halecky. "I haven't asked (Doria) and he hasn't talked to me about it."
But if it's true, Halecky said, "the governor has good taste (because) nobody is more qualified to handle that kind of job."
Councilman-at-large Anthony Chiappone said he found the reports credible. "It goes beyond the scope of rumors - it seems a logical move - an education post would be a tailor-made for him."
On that point, fellow councilman Connolly agreed.
"Certainly if the governor wanted to use his expertise, the mayor is one of the most astute people as far as education goes, but as far as his leaving as mayor, I don't believe it's going to happen."
School funding experiments kept under wraps
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
BY DUNSTAN McNICHOL
Star-Ledger Staff
State officials devising a new formula for distributing almost $8 billion in state aid to schools each year can tell you how much your town would gain or lose under three proposals.
But they won't.
In a court battle that briefly reached the state Supreme Court last week and may ultimately be decided there, officials with the Department of Education argue they need to keep secret the impact of three "alternative funding formula simulations" they experimented with in the fall of 2003.
Advocates hoping to have a say in how the state changes its system for dishing out state aid disagree. They sued and won a judge's order for the release of the information, which they say is vital to an informed debate on the $8 billion state aid program.
At issue is a 12-page memo on the funding alternatives that appears to spell out how much each variation would cost the state, and how implementing the new formulas would affect state aid to school districts based on their wealth.
The memo also appears to spell out how much property taxes would have gone up or down in each type of community under the proposed distribution alternatives.
Copies of the memo released to a Newark non-profit agency that sued the state Department of Education indicate that's what they say. But the memos have one significant problem: The portions that show how the new formulas played out were blacked out.
State officials claim that letting the public see how "novel" aid formulas play out would generate controversy, stifle creativity and leave state officials "subject to criticism for actions that have not yet been taken."
"When DOE (Department of Education) has thoroughly evaluated and analyzed all options, a final funding formula will be vetted in the Legislature, and the public may more fully participate at that juncture," state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said in a statement submitted as part of the court case over the memo.
Davy and her department have been fighting to keep the memo under wraps since April 23, when Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg ordered the full text of the memo released.
"Any privileged information appearing on these documents is outweighed by the public interest in its disclosure," Feinberg wrote in her order calling for the memo's release.
The state appealed Feinberg's order to the Appellate Division. But that court, ruling solely on the arguments made in court papers, rebuffed the state last month.
Last week, however, the state Supreme Court said the appellate court must first hold a hearing to consider the state's argument for keeping the document secret. The high court agreed to let the state keep the memo's contents under wraps until the matter is resolved.
The Education Law Center, a Newark-based non-profit that has spearheaded efforts to steer extra state aid to New Jersey's neediest communities, says disclosing how the proposed formulas play out is vital to letting the public have an informed discussion of the planned overhaul.
"We think more information is better than less," said Elizabeth Athos, senior attorney at the Law Center, who is working on the case. "It's important to have an informed public."
Davy declined to comment. But in her written statement to the court she argued that disclosure of the trial runs would be counterproductive.
"Because the task of developing a new statewide school funding formula involves extremely complex and specialized issues, it is imperative that those involved in the initial phase of considering different options be free to suggest any novel, innovative or possibly controversial concept," she wrote. "To have these ideas vetted in the public arena prior to a final determination would detrimentally interfere with DOE's decision-making abilities."
The appeals court has yet to schedule the hearing.
Dunstan McNichol may be reached at dmcnichol@starledger.com or (609) 989-0341.
Jersey ranks 2nd in graduation rate
Report also raises questions about the value of diplomas
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
BY JOHN MOONEY
Star-Ledger Staff
With high school graduation season approaching, the good news is New Jersey's public schools remain at the top nationally in the number of students earning their diplomas each year, according to a new report.
As good as the numbers look, however, the report comes at a time when questions are being raised nationwide about the value of diplomas and what schools require of their graduates.
The trade publication Education Week's annual "Diploma Counts" report found that more than 82 percent of New Jersey's high school students graduated with their class in 2003-04, the second highest rate in the country behind Utah. That rate falls to 62.5 percent for black students and 67 percent for Hispanic children.
The national average was about 70 percent overall and dipped as low as 53 percent for black students. The 2003-04 data is the latest available for every state, but the report estimates more than 1.2 million students nationwide will not graduate with their class this year.
Yet behind the numbers, the report reflected the debate in many states about the relation of that diploma to the skills needed in the modern work force.
In New Jersey, more than half of jobs require some post-secondary education or training, according to the report, and on average those jobs demand at least four years of such schooling.
"At both national and state levels, our research shows that a high school diploma alone is not sufficient for students to access the jobs that will provide a real future and to thrive in our economy," said Christopher Swanson, the researcher conducting the analysis.
Preparing students for work-force demands on all levels have been very much part of New Jersey's debate in the last year over how to improve its high schools.
State officials say they are proceeding with more rigorous requirements under what is called the American Diploma Project, a program adopted in more than 20 states.
Starting next year, the state will begin asking high school students to take specific state exams in subjects such as biology and algebra. Beyond that, a coalition of business and education leaders is pressing a whole set of course requirements for graduation.
"Our high school diploma doesn't mean anything to employers," said Dana Egreczky, a vice president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and a leader in the reform push. "It used to be a ticket to the middle class, but not anymore."
The coalition has finished nearly a dozen forums with the public and education community, and plans a formal proposal by the start of the next school year.
In the meantime, the state must still face questions about its current requirements that critics and others say inflate its graduation rates.
Students graduating must now pass the state's High School Proficiency Assessment, along with various course requirements. But those failing the high school test have to fall back in the state's controversial alternative test known as the Special Review Assessment, an untimed and loosely structured exam that virtually all pass.
Statewide, nearly 15 percent of the graduates each year need the SRA, and in some urban high schools the rate well exceeds 50 percent. The state currently plans to eliminate the SRA, starting with this year's freshman class, but debate has continued over how or whether to provide some safety net.
"Certainly the SRA as we know it is not going forward, but what we come up with to replace it has yet to be determined," said state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy.
Some say without the SRA, New Jersey's graduation rates would plummet well below its current top rankings. Chief among the critics have been those pressing for vouchers or other alternatives to traditional public schools.
"There is a huge disconnect between the (graduation rate) statistics and what is going on now," said Derrell Bradford, deputy director of Excellent Education for Everyone, a pro-voucher group.
A state budget plan with days to spare
Democrats strike $33.5B deal ahead of deadline, while GOP says it was snubbed
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
BY JOE DONOHUE
Star-Ledger Staff
Working to avoid a budget crisis in a legislative election year, state Democratic leaders struck an early deal yesterday on a spending plan that includes record property tax relief, a big boost in aid to hospitals and cancer centers, and no new taxes for the first time in five years.
One year after a battle over raising the sales tax paralyzed state government for more than a week, lawmakers said they plan final passage of the budget June 21, which would be 10 days before the deadline set by the state constitution.
"The administration and the Legislature have reached a consensus on a framework to a final budget," Treasurer Bradley Abelow announced, adding that some details still need to be worked out over the next few days.
The deal was reached during a morning meeting involving Gov. Jon Corzine, Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) and Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) at the governor's Princeton residence.
Abelow, Roberts and Codey all stressed the budget will include a record amount for property tax relief -- about $16.6 billion, which includes various aid programs for towns and schools along with $2 billion in tax credits and rebates.
"This agreement charts a clear path to an historic level of property tax relief and reform," Abelow said. Roberts said it will "fully fund the new system of maximum 20 percent property tax cuts for New Jersey homeowners."
"Within the next three or four months residents will be feeling this relief in a very tangible way," Codey said, referring to the rebate checks averaging $1,051 that will be mailed out to homeowners this fall.
He added "we've made great strides" in reforming the budget process and creating a "more timely and transparent system."
Applications by administration officials or legislators for budget changes had to be submitted last Wednesday. Those changes are expected to be made public today, along with full details of the revised budget, and two public hearings are to be held before the final votes.
Assembly Republicans, who recommended more than $1.5 billion in reductions last week, were not happy that Democrats announced an agreement before making the proposed changes public.
"How is it possible an agreement has been reached before anyone has had an opportunity to review the budget resolutions submitted last week, including our proposed budget cuts?" asked Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Morris). He said he doubted Democrats were serious in promising to review the Republican budget cuts.
"I question the sincerity of that consideration in light of the fact that the Democratic leadership has apparently already settled on a final budget without ever talking to me or my budget committee members about our plan," DeCroce said.
CHARITY CARE
Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, said he expected the revised budget to total about $33.5 billion, compared with the $33.3 billion budget proposed by Corzine in February.
Greenwald (D-Camden) said state officials have agreed to a new formula for disbursing state subsidies to hospitals that provide free care for the uninsured. The current budget includes $595 million in so-called "charity care" formula aid, plus about $112 million in grants that were added by lawmakers. Corzine's proposed budget excluded the grants.
The revised spending plan includes $716 million for charity care, plus $60 million in support for teaching hospitals, Greenwald said. He said hospital-related budget additions made up the largest single supplement to what Corzine proposed. Health funding is becoming a serious public concern, he said: "It is rapidly becoming as dominant an issue as property taxes."
Gary Carter, president of the New Jersey Hospital Association, said his group appreciates the increase but "it still falls substantially short of what we do. Unless there is reform to the whole system, we are leading to collapse." Carter said hospitals performed $1.6 billion of charity care work last year and asked the state for $880 million.
Greenwald said the budget also adds $23 million for cancer care and research, and $9 million more for municipal aid. The spending plan assumes $20 million less in sales tax revenue so lawmakers can remove the sales tax imposed last year on nonprofit gyms and health clubs.
SIXTH REJECTION
The revised budget also backs away from demanding co-payments from low-income and disabled people on Medicaid for prescription drugs and outpatient hospital care.
This is the sixth time in as many years a governor has made the proposal and the Legislature has shot it down. "This would have set a precedent we didn't want," said Tom Baffuto, executive director of the Arc of New Jersey, an advocacy group for people with developmental disabilities and for their families.
In a compromise, nonprofit agencies that serve abused children and disabled people will get a 3 percent raise in their contracts with the state, instead of the 2 percent Corzine had proposed. The providers had sought a 4.1 percent raise.
"Any increase is a help and we are grateful for them bumping it up," Baffuto said. "But we are still falling behind."
Last year, disagreement between Corzine and Democratic legislative leaders led to an unprecedented budget stalemate that dragged more than a week into July, partially shutting down the government and closing Atlantic City's state-regulated casinos.
This year, Democrats want as little controversy as possible as they try to maintain majorities in both legislative houses in the fall elections.
