Panel leaning in new direction on school consolidation plans Tuesday, November 14, 2006 • BY TOM HESTER • Star-Ledger Staff The idea of abolishing 600 school districts and replacing them with one for each county has faded in favor of creating "super" county superintendents to oversee local school officials and spending, members of a committee studying the issue said. Another of the more radical ideas considered by the Committee on Government Consolidation and Shared Services -- the creation of a state board that would identify which towns and school districts should merge -- remained unsettled as legislators debated how to give voters the final say. Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the committee chairman, also said a proposal to shift fire district elections and budget votes from a Saturday in February to the November general election is being crushed under heavy lobbying by firefighters. The committee is one of four scheduled to make recommendations Wednesday on ways to reduce New Jersey's property taxes. "Everybody has been discussing, discussing, discussing," Smith said. "We are coming to a general consensus on what is doable and what is not doable." A member of the committee, Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R- Burlington), said the report will offer broad ideas on the types of things the Legislature should do. But he added, "It has got to be backed up with serious legislation that gets to the heart of some of the issues," Malone said. "If nothing happens, people are going to go crazy." Smith said proposals to cut down on school administration, get towns and schools to consolidate and shift the date of fire district elections have been heavily criticized by interest groups. "Would you believe the most controversial idea is shifting the fire district elections?" Smith said. "On one hand there is more accountability on fire budgets, on the other hand the argument is let the firefighters do their thing. It's turning into a bit of a bear." A proposal to shift school board elections and budget votes from April to November will be one of the recommendations. Smith said his committee's report will also call for funding to promote municipal and school district consolidation or sharing of services. One version would provide the money through tax credits or state aid that would go directly to reducing property tax bills. Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), a committee member, is a sponsor of a proposal to create a state board that would recommend the consolidation of towns or school districts. He said the board's merger recommendations would not be mandatory, but it was undecided yesterday how the final vote by citizens would be handled. "Whatever we do," Kyrillos said, "it can't be something to tide us over to allow people political cover. If we don't make reforms, it won't be meaningful and it won't be lasting." The panel's 100-page report will include several proposals that have not garnered the spotlight. Two are designed to ease health and liability insurance costs for school districts and municipalities. A third would prohibit the use of police officers as emergency dispatchers. Another would require municipalities that obtain equipment or vehicles through the state's lease-purchase program, such as expensive sewer inspection cameras, to share them with neighboring towns. A fifth would attempt to eliminate the requirement that all health officers who join a consolidated office be paid at the same rate. The remaining bill would combine the state government's computer technology operations under one office. Tom Hester covers state government. He may be reached at thes ter@starledger.com or (609) 292-0557. © 2006 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.