Our Children/Our Schools
A newsletter about New Jersey school funding and reform
       June 2006 - Issue 1
In This Issue
Internet Resources

The Garden State has made great strides in adequately funding its public schools. New Jersey is also among the leaders on many indicators of education quality, such as high school graduation rates.

Yet not all children have adequate school funding or access to high quality preschool, safe facilities and other initiatives. And the State still relies too heavily on local property taxes.

Our Children/Our Schools seeks to inform the public debate on these important issues.

Special Legislative Session to Take-Up School Funding. On June 6, 2006, NJ Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts and Senate President Dick Codey announced plans to convene an unprecedented special legislative session to work on property tax reforms. The stated goal is to enact reform by the end of 2006.

The leadership intends to create four bipartisan, joint committees of the Senate and Assembly to address the following:
  • School funding
  • Benefits reform
  • Government Consolidation
  • Citizens’ Convention and Constitutional Reform
Education Groups Issue Blueprint for School Funding Reform. New Jersey education organizations have issued a paper outlining the basic principles and process necessary to develop an equitable and adequate school funding formula for all children in the Garden State, and to reduce reliance on local property taxes.
Governor Acts to Remove Camden Superintendent. Governor Jon Corzine has removed Camden Superintendent Annette Knox in the wake of allegations of test cheating and improper contract bonuses. The Governor exercised his authority under the Abbott rulings to ensure effective management and educational progress in New Jersey’s high poverty urban districts.
State tax dollars make a big difference in Paterson. Irene Sterling of the Paterson Education Fund wants you to know that without Abbott funding, the Paterson School District would have to close all but two of its three high schools; the third high school, all 32 elementary schools and 40 pre-school programs would shut their doors.
Rural students told to wait for new school funding law to remedy inadequate education. In a report to the NJ State Board of Education, Acting Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy declined to address the specific needs of school children in 16 poor South Jersey districts, even though the State Board has declared the current school funding law unconstitutional as applied to those districts.
Education advocacy groups are calling for accountability to the Abbott school children. Many of the items in the coalition’s Accountability Agenda have been specifically ordered by the Supreme Court. Governor Corzine admitted in May that the Department of Education has not fulfilled its obligations in this regard.
 
The Statwide Parent Advocacy Network urges Governor and NJDOE to step-up parent involvement in Abbott districts. Studies show that parent engagement is critical to student and school success, and the Abbott rulings mandate parent involvement as a necessary supplemental program. SPAN continues to be concerned with the State's failure to make parents partners in their child's education and in Abbott school reform.
In March 2006, the Institute on Education Law and Policy released the first in a series of reports on school funding and property tax reform. The first report summarizes the legal background of the NJ Supreme Court decisions of Robinson v. Cahill and Abbott v. Burke and the relevant constitutional provisions. It also discusses how this legal context affects both school funding and tax reform. This is important reading for legislators and those wishing to weigh in on these important policy discussions.

"At its core, a constitutionally adequate education is one that will prepare public school children for a meaningful role in society, enable them to compete effectively in the economy and contribute and participate as citizens and members of their communities."

CONTACT INFORMATION

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