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School Funding Formula Overhaul Eyed by State Senators
New Jersey School Boards Association
A three-member Senate Republican Task Force on Education Funding, meeting in the State House on August 19th, heard convincing evidence that the school funding formula is inequitable, property taxes are too high, and both are in dire need of reform.
Testifying on behalf of the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA), Robert A. DeSando, Director of Governmental Relations, emphasized the need for the state to fully fund any school aid formula and every education mandate.
DeSando said the NJSBA also believes that the state should pick up at least 50 percent of the cost providing a public education. The state budget for the 2003-2004 fiscal year funds only 41.6 percent of the cost, considerably less than the national average, which is about 50 percent, according to the latest U.S Census figures.
Reduce Abbott Funding
Senator Martin, and another member of the Republican task force, Senator Leonard Lance, R-Hunterdon, advocated changes to the school funding formula that would reduce the amount of money now received by Abbott districts while increasing the amount received by middle income districts. Lance noted that Abbott school districts receive approximately 53 percent of total state aid, even though they serve only 21 percent of the state's students.
Martin said the per pupil aid amount, under his proposal, would reflect regional cost of living factors. If a student is in need of special education, the per pupil amount for that individual would be higher. If the child were a special needs student, his or her per pupil amount would be 10 percent higher. Martin said only those students eligible for the federal free and reduced lunch program would be considered special needs students.
Students in Abbott districts who do not qualify for the free lunch program would not be entitled to a higher aid allocation. All special needs students, whether or not they reside in an Abbott district, would be entitled to early childhood education. The cost would be built into the per pupil amount assigned to the child.
Voucher Advocates Call for More School Choice Options
Advocates of school vouchers and school choice took a different view. They said too many urban schools are still failing their students and, in such cases, vouchers should be considered as a potential solution.
Henry K. Levari, Jr., Director of Business and Legislative Affairs for Excellent Education for Everyone (E3), included vouchers and school choice in a package of recommendations he presented to the task force. E3 is a non-profit organization promoting the expansion of school choice for failing urban schools. He proposed:
· Consolidation of small districts and the potential breakup of large districts.
· Centralized purchasing of all products and services used by all public schools.
· Reduced school construction and maintenance costs resulting from a reduction of an "overcrowded" urban public school population.
· Moving school board and school budget elections to November to save election costs.
· Reducing the "disproportionate over-identification of minority children as special needs recipients."
· A zero-based analysis to determine which state mandates are still necessary.
· A study of ways to reduce health benefits and pension costs.
· Reducing the "unauthorized migration" of children from poorly performing districts into better performing neighboring districts.
· Exploring options to "prevent urban private schools from closing and dumping students into the public system."
· Regionalization of non-public school transportation.
· Reduced reporting requirements to NJDOE.
· Opening teacher contract negotiations to the public.
· A review of all outside legal and accounting services.
· Basing aid to districts on average student attendance calculated monthly, rather than once per school year.
'Return the Money' Amendments Gain Support
James Morford, a private consultant, urged the task force to consider four proposed amendments to the state constitution supported by Empower the People, a nonpartisan citizens action group headed by former Jersey City mayor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler.
Morford said the package, already introduced in the Assembly and proposed for introduction in the Senate by Republican Senate President John O. Bennett, R-Monmouth, would improve public education and lower property taxes. It would also make it much harder to raise taxes in the future. The "Return the Money Amendments" (a description coined by supporters of the package) would require:
· Annual minimum increases in state aid for all school districts and municipalities before the state may increase the total appropriated for other purposes. (ACR-177)
· A two-thirds legislative majority to increase or implement any new state tax. (ACR-168)
· Local voter approval for exceptionally large increases in school and municipal spending. (ACR-178)
· Statewide voter approval for exceptionally large increases in state spending. Surplus revenues would have to be reserved or used to reduce property taxes. (ACR-176).
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