P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI

NJSBA Comments on Supreme Court Funding Decision

TRENTON, May 24, 2011— Raymond R. Wiss, president of the New Jersey School Boards Association, issued the following statement on today’s school funding decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court. 

“The New Jersey School Boards Association believes in fair and equitable distribution of state aid.  In 2008, NJSBA supported the principles of the School Funding Reform Act, based on the act’s recognition that at-risk students attend schools in communities throughout New Jersey, not just in 31 communities.  The 2008 funding law also attempted to help those middle- and moderate-income communities, which suffer from high property tax burdens and still have been unable to fund their education programs at levels considered adequate by the state.

“Today’s court decision does not resolve these matters.”

Future “At the same time, the decision leaves the School Funding Reform Act in place as a constitutional mechanism to provide a thorough and efficient system of free public schools. That factor holds out the possibility that the act can be used to meet the goals of adequate financing and property tax control for all communities in future years, although it does not remedy the impact of recent school funding reductions in the majority of school districts.

Financial Realities  “Any decision by the court cannot alter the financial realities that face New Jersey and which were outlined by the state in its arguments before the justices.  The New Jersey School Boards Association and its members recognize the need to expand existing strategies and identify new ones that will conserve limited resources through partnerships, shared services, administrative cost control and the negotiations process.  We have a responsibility to our students and to the taxpayers who provide the resources for the operation of the public schools.”

The New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of 588 local boards of education and includes 44 charter school associate members. NJSBA advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education.