Abbott
district program comes under scrutiny
Allegations of waste and
mismanagement surface. Lawmakers to question state education
officials.
Wednesday, April 12, 206 • By TERRENCE DOPP •
The Express-Times
TRENTON | A spokesman for the Assembly
Budget Committee chairman said Tuesday reports of waste and
mismanagement in the state's court-mandated preschool
program need to be investigated.
Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Camden,
said he plans to grill Department of Education officials
when they come before his committee during hearings on Gov.
Jon Corzine's proposed $30.9 billion budget.
"These are very serious allegations that
have been raised, and they certainly will be part of the
budget committee's questioning of state education officials
when they come before the committee," said Derek Roseman,"
Greenwald's spokesman.
"That's all I can say now. It's premature
to suggest anything until we get answers to questions this
committee may have."
New Jersey's 31 poorest school systems,
known as Abbott Districts after the series of court cases
that created them, are under Supreme Court mandate to phase
in free pre-school for 3- and 4-year-olds. The roster of
schools includes Salem, Phillipsburg, and other mostly
urban, poor communities.
Under the current system, taxpayers
throughout the state collectively fund the districts at a
level equal to the richest schools.
According to a spokesman for the
Department of Education, the Supreme Court's 1999 order left
urban and low-income districts without the classroom space
to comply.
As a result, they contracted with
400-plus private, state licensed centers to do so in the
2002-03 school year and didn't require quarterly financial
reports until the following year, DOE officials
said.
The recent revelations are a sign the
agency is "getting its arms around" the issue of waste, said
chief auditor Bob Ortley.
Among the reported abuses recorded by The
Record of Hackensack are $900,000 in personal loans to
administrators at a dozen North Jersey pre-kindergarten
providers, owners writing off pet food, chocolates and even
a Caribbean time share.
Assemblyman Michael Doherty,
R-Warren/Hunterdon, has called for an end to the Abbott
system of funding, which he said means schools in his
district get just $1 in state funding for every $5 that go
to Abbott districts.
Doherty, a member of the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, said the Abbott system does not
foster accountability by school administrators in those
communities.
"Clearly it was an abuse and consistent
with what you've seen in the Abbott districts and with the
(School Construction Corp.). People are not as careful
spending someone else's money as they are their own," said
Doherty, whose district includes Phillipsburg. "They see in
essence free money from Trenton."
Terrence Dopp is Trenton correspondent for The
Express-Times. He can be reached at 609-292-5154.
© 2006 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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