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On larger funding issues for proposed State Budget 2003-2004...calls for full funding of extraordinary aid - a GSCS goal that was realized that year.
Garden State Coalition of Schools/GSCS
Dr. Walter Mahler, President 210 West State Street Lynne Strickland, Executive Director
973 376 1025 Trenton, N.J. 08608 609 394 2828/fax 609 396 7629
4-9-03
GSCS Board of Trustees Member Districts: Absecon, Chatham, Cherry Hill, Clinton Twp., Colts Neck, Cranford, East Brunswick, Hackensack, Haddonfield, Livingston, Little Silver, Madison, Millburn, Monroe Twp., Montgomery, Montville, Moorestown, Mountain lakes, Northern Valley Regional, Ridgewood, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, South Brunswick, Westfield, Woodcliff Lake, and the GSCS Parent Outreach Network Committee.
Dear Legislator,
This year the state is facing a budget crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Legislative review of the Governor’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year ’04 is underway. As very hard choices are being visited in that process, so school districts have had to face similar budget constraints at the local level and likewise have been making hard choices.
The overwhelming majority of GSCS districts fund their local budgets at 90-95% from local property taxes. After two years of state aid freezes, compounded by sour economy plus soaring health benefits and special education costs in particular, our school district has ‘hit the wall.’ We are going to have real trouble providing educationally adequate programs for our students next year. To relieve negative impact, we offer a few short term ideas that could help our district - thus not only students but local property taxpayers as well - through the short term. We ask that you consider amending the Appropriations Act for FY’04 as follows:
1. Fund “extraordinary aid” for special education in full. This aid especially fulfills a very important function in a local district as it acts as a stabilizer during lean times and lean budgets. Districts are faced with extraordinary costs when children with extraordinary special needs move into their schools. When this occurs, funding to support those children is mandated and clearly needed. However, without sufficient state back up to support, district budgets can even go ‘over the edge’ (see Jamesburg, October ’02 - teaching and support services positions had to be eliminated mid-term.). Full funding of extraordinary aid goes a long way to prevent these very difficult situations and would demonstrate legislative understanding of the negative impact of underfunding this category.
- This aid applies to any district type. It serves the special needs of students no matter where
they reside.
-This is exactly the kind of aid that stabilizes district budgets in lean years, and helps to
prevent teacher and support staff reduction, class size increases, program cuts.
- It would take approximately $25-30M to make this aid category whole. The aid only kicks in when
costs per special education pupil are in excess of $40K. Districts must apply to the DOE on a
student-by-student basis to qualify for the aid. The proposed budget allocates $15M for
extraordinary aid. Districts qualified by the DOE this year received this aid, prorated to 28%.
2.Ensure that school districts are not faced with a “last state aid payment delay syndrome” year in and year out. Amend the language of the Appropriations Act to clarify that this exception does not become the rule.
p. 2/GSCS
3. Do not exclude “IJ” districts that are qualified to receive CCCSA from receiving the new aid category, “consolidated aid.” These districts in particular face a double jeopardy type of situation. They have had their basic state aid frozen two years in a row, and they will not be able to receive any aid from the new category intended to help middle income districts. IJ Districts are not the top 119 wealthiest districts in the state. Indeed, 22 “I” districts are considered by the state’s own ability-to-pay formula (used to determine which districts qualify for CCCSA/basic foundation aid) to be in need of receiving CCCSA aid. To reiterate, state policy determines that more than 250 districts are ‘wealthier’ than these 22 districts. It is objectionable that the proposed budget uses “IJ” District Factor Group (dfg’s) districts from receiving any of the 50M reserved for Non-Abbott districts. What is the rationale? It is time to clear up the misperception that the dfg scale only indicates local district wealth. DFG’s are a socio-economic scale, originally designed for leveling the field of test score comparison. The Abbott decision used dfg IJ designation as an indicator of high performance as much as high wealth. In addition, if the state is thinking that this exclusion will have a impact in reducing parity aid, it is highly unlikely. Local property taxes will have to make up the difference in lost aid, and local levy is part of the parity calculation.
The decision to exclude IJ’s from FY’04 aid was a funding decision only. A compounding issue is that the dfg scale used by the state is based on 13 year-old census data. The state has delayed updating this file with 2000 available census data - why? Times change, it is quite probable that many “I” districts based on 1990 census no longer fit that “I” designation. These districts are: :
Clinton, West Windsor,
Cherry Hill, Wenonah, Randolph, Voorhees (Camden), Marlboro,
Hunterdon Central, Sparta, Washington (Morris), Califon, North Hunterdon-Voorhees, Leonia, East Brunswick, Medford Lakes, South Brunswick, Green (Sussex), Evesham, Byram, Hillsborough, Bethleham, Roosevelt. (Bold = GSCS member district.)
Thank you for your consideration, we appreciate the time and effort you put forth on behalf of your district and ours.
Sincerely,
W.M., L.S.
____________________________
Dr. Walter Mahler, President
Lynne Strickland, Executive Director
The Garden State Coalition of Schools Board of Trustees
