Newark, NJ – November 1, 2006

The NJ Department of Education (DOE) is recommending to the Legislature per-pupil base costs for foundational education that are $1,684 per pupil or 17% less than what New Jersey school districts currently spend on average.

The per pupil costs were unveiled at an October 24th hearing of the Joint Legislative Committee on School Funding Reform by Education Commissioner Lucille Davy. The Committee is trying to develop a new school funding formula to replace the 1997 law declared unconstitutional by the NJ Supreme Court in the landmark Abbott v. Burke case.

The DOE is proposing an average of $8,500 per-pupil as adequate to educate public school students under the State’s K-12 academic standards, known as the NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCS). The DOE base costs range from a high of $10,057 for a small K-8 school district to $8,016 for a very large K-12 school district.

The DOE base costs are $1,684 per pupil below spending by all school districts on foundational education, including low and middle income districts. They are also $2,465 per pupil or 22% below the level spent in the successful suburban school districts. These districts serve as the foundation cost benchmark for State’s urban districts under the Abbott rulings.

Here’s how the DOE costs compare to district spending in 2005:

Comparison of Actual 2005 Foundation Spending and DOE "Base Cost"

The sharply lower foundation cost means that school districts across the State are spending over $2 billion more than the DOE believes is necessary to provide curriculum and instruction under the NJCCS. The successful suburban districts are spending over $700 million in excess of the DOE proposed foundation level.

The DOE base cost is also well below the levels determined for Connecticut in a just-released study by Augenblick and Palaich (A&P), the same Denver-based consulting firm that advised DOE officials on education cost methods in 2003. In Connecticut, A&P concluded that approximately $10,000 per pupil was necessary for foundational education, a figure comparable to New Jersey’s current spending level.

Commissioner Davy did not explain to the Committee how DOE arrived at its base cost, and lawmakers voiced concern over the lack of reliable information from the Department. Commissioner Davy promised more information at a later date, stating that the DOE is "not trying to hide anything."

After the hearing, Assemblyman Herbert Conaway and Senator Joseph Doria called for accurate and verifiable cost data, citing the Legislature’s responsibility to develop a funding formula that "passes the muster of the Supreme Court."

The Court, in its Abbott rulings, makes clear that any new base cost must be based on rigorous and verifiable evidence of what is necessary to educate students to successfully meet the NJCCCS. The Court also requires the DOE to demonstrate that any difference between the base cost and current foundation spending in successful suburban districts represents spending those districts don’t need to meet State academic standards.

"It is difficult to understand how the DOE could propose a base cost so far below current foundation levels," said David Sciarra, ELC Executive Director and counsel in the Abbott case. "The Department must demonstrate why its base cost is so low -- especially when compared to spending in our lighthouse suburban districts -- and why the DOE considers that spending excessive."

Related Story: NJDOE Releases Incomplete Education Cost Data