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NEWS RELEASE
| CONTACT: | David
Sciarra (973) 624-1815, ext. 16 |
DATE: October 8, 2003 |
State Refuses to Fully Fund Abbott Preschool
Districts to Appeal Rulings
Newark NJ -- Education Commissioner William Librera has rejected claims by four Abbott districts for over $7 million in state aid to fully fund their preschool programs this year. The Commissioner also ordered these districts to transfer funds already allocated for language arts, mathematics, science and other core curriculum programs for grades K-12 to make up the gap in state preschool aid.
The Commissioner's rulings, dated September 26th, reversed decisions by Administrative Law Judges in cases involving the Millville, Phillipsburg, Neptune and Pemberton districts, and upheld the Law Judge decision in the Passaic case. The Law Judges in four of the five cases concluded that the State, not local districts, must fund Court-mandated preschool, citing the directives in the Abbott v. Burke litigation. The districts plan an appeal to the Superior Court, Appellate Division.
"The Commissioner's rulings defy the Supreme Court Abbott mandates," said David Sciarra, Executive Director of Education Law Center, attorney for the school children in the Abbott case. "The Court has repeatedly ordered the State to pick up the full cost of preschool in Abbott districts, and prohibits using funds dedicated for K-12 classrooms to pay for preschool. The Commissioner's action, if not overturned, will weaken core instructional programs for all Abbott children," Mr. Sciarra stated.
"Unlike the federal No Child Left Behind law, Abbott preschool is not an un-funded mandate. This is a mandate the State must pay for," Mr. Sciarra added.
The State has approved
$408 million in Abbott preschool budgets for 2003-04. Yet the FY04 State
Budget contains only $374 million in state preschool aid, leaving the
districts with a deficit of $34 million in needed operational funds.