Funding Alert

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.

Paterson is able to raise only $36 million in local school taxes. That is simply not enough to provide for the academic needs of its more than 30,000 public school students. This is because Paterson is a distressed city of over 150,000 citizens with 22 % of its residents below the poverty rate. The unemployment rate is over 13 %, well above the 5.8 % rate for New Jersey as a whole; the median household income is only $32,778 compared to the median in New Jersey as a whole of $55,146.

The Paterson Education Fund has been advocating for the children of Paterson since 1983. Among its many initiatives are increasing school and community capacity to work together for the benefit of Paterson school children. This has resulted in the development of a number of community schools which house health and social services in the schools for better access. Another initiative is PEF’s participation in the Abbott School Construction program. The plans for Paterson call for 13 new elementary schools, 2 new high school complexes and 2 early childhood centers, as well as renovations to every existing school. PEF’s advocacy and leadership will be important as construction funds begin to flow again from the reorganized School Construction Corporation.

PEF was a founding member of the nationally based Public Education Network, a national organization of local education funds and individuals working to improve public schools and build citizen support for quality public education in low-income communities across the nation. PEF has contributed its expertise to other local education funds across New Jersey and serves as a model for effective advocacy and community capacity building in public education.