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Included: Commissioner Davy's letter to districts on state aid for the 2006-2007 school year and Department of Education narrative explanation of aid categories in the proposed State Budget FY07.
GARDEN STATE COALITION OF SCHOOLS/GSCS
EMAILNET ‘FYI’ 3-24-06
Update on Governor Corzine’s Budget
www.gscschools.org gscs2000@gmail.com
3-24-06 Schools learn who wins, loses in Corzine budget
Suburban districts have long complained that the state's funding ignored enrollment changes, and last year won some help in then-Gov. Richard Codey's budget. Advocates for those districts said they are pleased Corzine is going further in that direction even though some shrinking districts could take a hit. "Not that the day is over -- flat funding is really taking a toll on districts and only jacking up property taxes -- but it's encouraging that he's at least giving us a symbolic nod and paying attention," said Lynne Strickland, director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, a group of more than 100 suburban districts.
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Schools learn who wins, loses in Corzine budget
Friday, March 24, 2006
BY JOHN MOONEY
Star-Ledger Staff
Two days after Gov. Jon Corzine warned that state funding for schools would be frozen again next year, aid figures unveiled yesterday contained a few surprises, with some individual districts seeing big drops or increases.
Two in three districts would see nominal changes or none at all for a fifth straight year. But while past funding freezes have been largely across the board, this time some fast-growing districts would get a boost, while schools with declining enrollments would see cuts.
And the needy districts that fall under the state Supreme Court's Abbott vs. Burke court order, which were expecting increases, found out their overall aid will be nearly flat.
On top of that, eight of those districts were told to expect steep cuts under a new Corzine administration strategy to require local taxpayers to bear a larger share of Abbott school costs.
The proposed aid figures released yesterday by the state Department of Education also include cuts for some suburban districts, including a more than $1 million reduction in
"This is a very difficult budget year, and the governor has said he will not permit a continuation of past practice that allowed
But a few districts, urban and suburban, won unexpected increases.
In one of the state's wealthier districts, the
"That was a complete shock," said Superintendent Jim O'Neill. "We never get more aid, only less."
The surprises reflected several changes in how Corzine's first budget funds public schools. Among the most far-reaching were the adjustments for schools that are seeing big increases or decreases in enrollment. An extra $5.6 million will be distributed to fast-growing districts, while those that lost students over the last four years will see cuts totaling $3 million.
Suburban districts have long complained that the state's funding ignored enrollment changes, and last year won some help in then-Gov. Richard Codey's budget. Advocates for those districts said they are pleased Corzine is going further in that direction even though some shrinking districts could take a hit.
"Not that the day is over -- flat funding is really taking a toll on districts and only jacking up property taxes -- but it's encouraging that he's at least giving us a symbolic nod and paying attention," said Lynne Strickland, director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, a group of more than 100 suburban districts.
But the big fight will remain around the Abbott districts. State officials yesterday conceded that the aid for K-12 programs will only go up about $4 million -- not the nearly $96 million claimed in Corzine's budget presentation on Tuesday. That figure included $92 million already earmarked for the districts this year.
Abbott districts have already submitted their 2006-07 budgets for state approval; officials said yesterday they will now have to redo them to match up with the new figures. "Our goal is to work with them to get their budgets within these numbers," said Davy.
That didn't go over well with the districts, eight of which are also taking cuts because administration officials say local taxpayers are not paying their fare share.
Superintendent Marion Bolden said she didn't have a problem with local taxpayers bearing some of the additional costs, conceding that
"That's the only fair thing, that's the right thing," she said. "It has become very difficult to make a case for the budget if there is also the ability for us pay our fair share."
But Newark's proposed budget calls for 6 percent spending growth to keep up with rising costs, and Bolden said without any additional help from the state it could be forced to eliminate needed programs. She said she would go to court if necessary to prevent that.
"If there is a cut in something I need to be successful, of course I will go back to court," she said.
It may be a busy court docket. Davy said the state will itself return to the court to defend its flat funding for the Abbotts, and the chief lawyer for the Abbott schoolchildren said the state should count on a fight.
"This budget is going to have a devastating impact on Abbott schools and kids," said David Sciarra, director of the
"This is really a reduction budget for schools statewide," he said. "This is deeply disappointing."
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at jmooney@starledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.
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Fiscal Year 2006-2007 State Aid Changes
1. Above Average Enrollment Growth - $5.575m increase to $17.575m
Non Abbott districts with more than 100 resident students that experience at least 2.5 percent growth, based on their October 2005 and projected October 2006 resident enrollment, will receive aid in this category. A district’s share of the aid is the same as its enrollment’s share of the total increase in enrollment.
2. Education
Education Opportunity Aid is funded at the level of the final EOA payments in 2005-06 for most of the Abbott districts. Districts that received only formula EOA (Garfield, Harrison,
3. Abbott Border District Aid – $1.9m increase to $21.9m
The five districts that received this aid in 2005-06 will receive the same amount of aid in 2006-07. One additional district,
4. Higher Expectations for Learning and Proficiency - $5m decrease to $10m
All of the aid in this category will be directed to low income districts with per-pupil equalized property valuations below $750,000, or to county vocational schools with more than 51 percent of their enrollment from an Abbott district.
5. Consolidated Aid - $0.44m decrease to $129.7m
Consolidated Aid awards to districts will decline by a small amount in districts that have declining enrollment either in five consecutive years between 2001 and 2005, or four consecutive years between 2002 and 2005. In each case, the decrease in aid is the product of the decrease in enrollment and the cost factor for distance learning network aid in 2001-02.
6. Additional Formula Aid - $3.23m decrease to $86.8m
Additional Formula Aid awards will decline for districts that have declining enrollment either in five consecutive years between 2001 and 2005, or four consecutive years between 2002 and 2005. In addition, districts with overall enrollment decline that also experience a decline in special education enrollment will lose Additional Formula Aid.
7. Choice Aid - $1.66m decrease to $8.31m
Choice Districts will experience a decline in Choice Aid if their October 2005 enrollment is less than the projected 2005 enrollment used in awarding aid in 2005-06.
8. Aid-in-Lieu - $794.00
The Aid-in-Lieu reimbursement amount for nonpublic transportation expenditures will be fixed at the 2005-06 level per pupil amount. There will be no automatic CPI increase.
TO: Chief School Administrator March 23, 2006
School Business Administrator
FROM: Lucille E. Davy, Acting Commissioner
SUBJECT: 2006-07 State Aid
Attached are your state school aid notices for the 2006-2007 school year. As a result of the State’s severe fiscal crisis, Governor Corzine has proposed a state K-12 education
I have also attached a more detailed analysis of some of the changes in this year’s budget. I am aware that districts will have very little time to incorporate this information into their budgets; but for the majority, the aid numbers represent no changes from the current year. The aid numbers are available for you to download into your
The
Please direct general questions to your respective county office. Questions about the data utilized in the state aid calculations should be directed to the Office of School Funding, at
(609)984-4949.LED:YOT:osf/yt/state aid/fy07/memos/fy07stateaid.docAttachments
c: State Board Members
Isaac Bryant
Assistant Commissioners
Katie Attwood
LEE Group
