Friday, February 11, 2005

Budgetary restraints called counterproductive

By SARAH GREENBLATT
Courier-Post Staff
MOUNT LAUREL

A quadrennial budget slump, new accountability measures and a state law that restricts school spending are creating a perfect storm for educators and taxpayers alike, education advocates said Thursday night.

At a summit sponsored by the Mount Laurel Schools and the Garden State Coalition of Schools, a panel of advocates warned that school programs face cuts and that property taxes will still rise.

School districts face rising costs for special education, insurance and utilities that boards of education cannot control, said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the coalition.

The budget for fiscal year 2006 is expected to provide flat funding for public education - the fourth straight year schools have gone without increased aid, said Edwina M. Lee, executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association.

A state law that puts ever-tightening limits on school spending increases and prohibits districts from saving for a rainy day has actually driven up costs, Lee said.

The law was aimed at relieving the burden on taxpayers, but it was poorly thought out, said state Sen. John Adler, D-Cherry Hill.

Adler said the state Assembly would be willing to repeal the law but that the Senate won't. He said the best opportunity to create a better method for funding schools is through a property tax convention.

Jim Schroeder, a lobbyist for the New Jersey Education Association, said a convention could open the door to troubling constitutional amendments and that the Legislature should revise the tax system.

Panelists said there are many widely held myths about excesses in school spending. While cutting administrative expenses is a politically popular aim, that category of funding includes telephones, photocopiers and insurance, said Geraldine Carroll, of the Association of School Administrators. Carroll is also the school superintendent in Lindenwold.

"There's a lot of scapegoating going on," Schroeder noted.

Lee said the law has increased costs for districts that had to borrow money for capital projects, after being forced to surrender surplus funds for tax relief.

Advocates urged residents to support a bill that would amend the year-old law by allowing districts to maintain a 3 percent surplus and allows budget-cap adjustments for courtesy busing and special education.

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Reach Sarah Greenblatt at (856) 486-2457 or at sgreenb@courierpostonline.com