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. Newark would lose more
than $8 million, and Jersey City would see a reduction of $6
million.
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 Woodbridge and $515,000 in
Montclair.
"This is a very difficult budget year,
and the governor has said he will not permit a continuation
of past practice that allowed New Jersey to spend year after
year more money than it takes in," said acting Education
Commissioner Lucille Davy.
But a few districts, urban and suburban,
won unexpected increases.
Perth Amboy is among those Abbott
districts the state wants to raise more through local taxes.
But because of its rising enrollment, it would receive an
overall aid increase of $2 million, officials
said.
In one of the state's wealthier
districts, the Chathams schools could get nearly $200,000
more, also due to rising enrollments.
"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.
Newark will see the biggest hit, with the
state proposing to reduce its overall aid by $8.2 million
for the coming year and telling the district it should raise
local school taxes by the same amount.
Superintendent Marion Bolden said she
didn't have a problem with local taxpayers bearing some of
the additional costs, conceding that Newark's school taxes
have not risen in more than 20 years.
"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 Education Law Center, the Newark
center that first brought the Abbott suit.
"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.
© 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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