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Attached is material and remarks made by press conference participants, parents Sarah Maris (Fair Haven), Jonathan Marshall (Bernards Twp), Michele Lenhard (Ridgewood), and Betsy Ginsburg (Glen Ridge), and GSCS Exec. Director Lynne Strickland. Thanks to the large number of parents who took the time to show up in Trenton today to make a visual statement of your concern for your schools, communities and quality education. Watch NJN tonight - you will see GSCS in action.
Material is copied here in same order as presented at the Press Conference:
Welcome....Dr.Marjorie Heller, President GSCS
Moderator & Opening FYI....Lynne Strickland,
GSCS Executive Director
Context of school funding in the suburbs: Unpredictable, unstable, and becoming untenable due to increasing reliance on local taxpayers to pick up the difference. Approximately 45% of the Regular Operating Districts in the state are considered ‘too wealthy’ now by the state’s own ability-to-pay formula to receive basic state aid.
- 5 years of flat formula funding
- School Construction – into second year with no substantial notification to districts re: if or when or even they may receive stated ‘state share’ of eligible costs.
- Myth of IJ per pupil average being the cost driver of Abbott spending
While this was true up to about 2000, things have changed. In 2000 supplemental aid, as mandated in Supreme Court decisions, kicked in.
In recent years, the pupil spending for education in Abbotts has increased to approximately $3K more that the IJ average. The link between the end-cost of Abbott and IJ budgeting for regular education is no longer the engine for overall Abbott costs. Policy-makers need to understand that change so that policy decisions they make now re: school funding are based on current fact, not past history.
Data Handout - Impact for all districts if Special Education aid is equalized:
Loss of Aid, via equalization by implementing wealth-based formula for special education, appears to be under consideration in new funding formula:
Consequences are real - In the name of property tax relief, districts will be pushed to raise property taxes to meet reduced aid to the possible tune of $635M.
- Handout: Special Education Aid Statewide Listing (Spec. Ed. Aid is based on individual student need no matter where he or she lives)
(Listing does not include ‘extraordinary’ special education aid, in FY07 = $52 although laws called for $174M).
Addenda: Examples of State Special Education Aid & Costs in local districts
NJ State Aid for Special Education $2,551,192 (28.7% of Special Ed costs excluding Federal dollars)
Instruction $3,417,010
Child Study Teams 2,368,420
Tuition 1,559,900
Transportation 1,515,200
Total $ 8,860,530
Federal $ - Out of District Placement $800,000
Grand Total costs - $9,660,530
Special Ed cost as a percent of total budget - 12.7%
Federal & State Aid Total - $3,351,192 ( 34.6% of Special Ed Costs)
Benefits for special education staffing are approximately $500K+
Fair Haven (FY06)
State Special Education aid = $514,709.00
State transportation aid = $32,936.00
Federal aid for 0506 = $180,370.00
- Special Education spending 2005-2006 = approximately $1,780,192.00 (including Child Study Teams, classroom instruction, supplies, out of district tuition, related services etc (not including transportation).
- Special Education Transportation costs = $125,952.00.
Total spending for Special Education = $1,906,144.00 .
only State aide, 29%).
Fair Haven only has one student placed out of district, remarkable for a district its size.
General Fund: Cost |
| |
4 |
|
|
5 |
Tuition (out-of-district placement) |
$545,733 |
6 |
Speech |
122,103 |
7 |
Professional Service (OT, PT, |
284.564 |
8 |
CST |
704,160 |
9 |
Aides 11-190-100-106-01-00-00 |
57,074 |
10 |
Special Ed Instruction |
1,076,875 |
11 |
|
|
12 |
Sub-Total |
$2,790,509 |
13 |
|
|
14 |
Transportation: |
|
15 |
In-District |
59,094 |
16 |
Out-of-District |
305,542 |
17 |
|
|
18 |
Sub-Total |
$3,096,051 |
19 |
|
|
20 |
Benefits: |
|
21 |
Wages FICA Rate |
|
22 |
FICA $332,291 x .0765 |
$25,420 |
23 |
Wages Est. Rate |
|
24 |
PERS $80,707 x .03 |
8,421 |
25 |
Salaries Est. Ben. Alloc. |
|
26 |
Health Benefits $1,959,566 x 16% |
313,530 |
27 |
|
|
28 |
Total General Fund |
$3,443,422 |
29 |
|
|
30 |
Special Revenue Fund: Cost |
|
31 |
|
|
32 |
IDEA (Basic & Pre-School) |
|
33 |
Purchase Professional Services |
$13,380 |
34 |
Out-of-District Tuition |
254,090 |
35 |
Supplies |
14,000 |
36 |
Professional Development |
5,000 |
37 |
Wages |
7,500 |
38 |
Fringe Benefits |
1,125 |
39 |
|
|
40 |
Total Special Rev. Fund |
$295,095 |
41 |
|
|
42 |
Grand Total General & Special Revenue Funds-Cost |
$3,738,517 |
43 |
|
|
44 |
|
|
45 |
General Fund: Revenues |
|
46 |
|
|
47 |
Special Education Aid - State Aid |
$689,116 |
48 |
Transportation Aid-State Aid |
118,486 |
49 |
**Extra-Ordinary Aid |
66,950 |
50 |
|
|
51 |
Sub-Total |
$874,552 |
52 |
|
|
53 |
Special Revenue Fund: Revenues |
|
54 |
|
|
55 |
IDEA (Basic & Pre-School) |
$295,095 |
56 |
|
|
57 |
Grand Total General and Special Revenue Funds-Revenues |
$1,169,647 |
58 |
|
|
59 |
|
|
60 |
$1,169,647 ÷ $3,738,517 |
31.3% Combined |
61 |
|
|
62 |
State Aid Revenues as a % of General Fund Annual Cost |
|
63 |
$874,552 ÷ $3,443,422 |
25.4% State Only |
__________________________________________________
PARENT SPEAKERS:
1)
Sarah Maris
Fair Haven,
In Fair Haven, we are passionate about our public schools. We are a strong community made up of relative newcomers and families who have lived in our town for generations. We don’t agree on everything – but we do agree on some fundamentals.
First, in Fair Haven, as in many
Our second point of agreement is that we really want to live here because of the quality of our schools and our community. Our schools and our children are a vital part of our town. We recognize that if
Our third point of agreement is that we’re worried. We know that
I ask our legislators to look at what happened in
Talk to your friends and relatives in
Is that what we want for
Yes, we do need to address our high property taxes but we can’t do it by mortgaging our children’s future.
And we can’t do it by giving up local control over our schools. Community control is one of the major strengths of the
The citizens of Fair Haven keep a close eye on our schools. We have spirited discussions about curriculum and budgets both in and out of our Board of Education meetings. Our administrators and Board of Ed. members know that if they do something that our community doesn’t like, they are going to hear about it.
Are there savings to be had through shared services? Absolutely! But we don’t need to take control away from our local communities to make that happen. The best decisions about our schools will be made by our neighbors, who understand our community and want to do what is right by both our children and by our taxpayers.
We need to make some compromises to solve our tax crisis. But let’s make sure they are well-considered compromises. We cannot afford to let
Please
2)
Jonathan A. Marshall,
I want to thank our legislators for working hard on the issues of school funding and property tax reform.
Please remember that the debate is not just property taxes. It's about
The debate is both dollars and educational effectiveness. How can we make all of
I live in
· switching from the costly State Health Benefits Plan to private health insurance – saving $2 million/year;
· privatizing custodial services – saving hundreds of thousands of dollars per year;
· establishing special ed programs in-house, to keep tuition and transportation dollars;
·
reducing the number of administrators and administrative staff;
· increasing class sizes;
· avoiding amenities – no swimming pool, no middle school sports funding, etc.
Like many
One thing that has really hurt the
This same problem has hurt many of the Garden State Coalition school districts.
In all this discussion, please remember that our parents and communities provided for us. They paid for our schooling. They provided a vision for what our State would be like. Let us not sacrifice what
Legislators, focus on educational effectiveness with saving dollars. Please take concrete steps to help and encourage our school districts to achieve high quality education for all
It's hard, we know. You're working hard to become experts on school finance and school quality. We appreciate your doing that for our state. Please help
3) Michele Lenhard,
________________________________________________________________________
4) GARDEN STATE COALITION OF SCHOOLS PARENT PRESS CONFERENCE
November 1, 2006
REMARKS: Betsy Ginsburg,
My name is Betsy Ginsburg, and I am a parent from
Twenty years ago State education aid accounted for 23%of our school budget; now we receive only 4.3%. This is the single biggest reason for our skyrocketing property tax bills, which now average over $15,000 per year.
The majority of Glen Ridgers are not rich and many make considerable sacrifices to remain in our town and send their children to our excellent public schools. But for some, the sacrifice is just too much. Longtime residents have been forced to leave and young families are finding it harder to afford the high tax bills that come with even the most modest homes. Our community is suffering and so are the over 200 other communities whose school districts are considered too wealthy for basic education aid.
“Equalization” is really a misnomer, as it makes some of our most vulnerable students more “equal” than others. It works like this—under equalization, the State will withhold all Special Education Aid to students in districts like mine in order to provide a little more aid to students in other districts. I can’t think of anything more harmful, divisive and destructive. Special Education services are mandated by the State and Federal governments, so equalization will mean that
Are there workable solutions to the property tax crisis? The Garden State Coalition has suggested a funding formula whereby no school district will receive more than 85% or less than 15% of its budget from the State. A formula like this would have an immediate positive effect on districts like mine, and property taxes would go down as the result.
A solution that ignores children in the many districts like mine is no solution at all. Punitive measures like unrealistic spending caps and forced consolidations will only drive property taxes up and hurt our children. We have waited years for real equity in education funding and we will not accept anything less.