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

NJSBA Urges Adoption of Budget with Increased School Aid

TRENTON, June 28—The New Jersey School Boards Association today called for the adoption of the Legislature’s 2011-2012 appropriations act (S-4000/A-4200), which would increase state aid to public education by approximately $1 billion over the administration’s originally proposed levels.  The additional funds would enable many middle- and moderate-income communities to restore school programs affected by previous years’ reductions in school funding, according to NJSBA.

“Our state has gone through difficult economic times and schools were not immune from the impact,” said Marie S. Bilik, NJSBA executive director.  “However, the Office of Legislative Services has provided reasonable projections of increases in state revenue during the next fiscal year.  That money should be used to enable school boards to restore classroom programs.”

Larger Class Size  As an indicator of the need for additional funding, Bilik pointed to preliminary results of an NJSBA survey showing that, in over half the state’s school districts, class size increased in 2010-2011, with further increases anticipated next year in almost one-third of public schools.  (The results are consistent with recently reported New Jersey Department of Education data, showing a decline in the number of classroom teachers statewide.)

Four-out-of-ten school officials responding to NJSBA’s survey also say that the class-size increases were significant enough to have had a negative impact on instruction in their districts.  Class-size increases were most frequently cited at the elementary grade levels, particularly Kindergarten through third grade.

“The additional aid provided through the appropriations act would help reverse class-size increases and program cuts that resulted from last year’s reduction in aid,” said Bilik.

No New Taxes in Budget  Approved by the Senate and Assembly budget panels Monday, the appropriations act cites increased revenue projections from existing state tax structures as the source for additional public school aid.  The new education funding would consist of $446.9 million for the 31 Abbott districts, as ordered by the state Supreme Court in May.  The remainder of the increase, approximately $574 million, would be allocated to more than 200 non-Abbott districts that are not spending at amounts considered adequate by the School Funding Reform Act of 2008.

The appropriations act earmarks the additional school funds for restoration of classroom staffing and instructional programs, as well as for the elimination of student activity fees, which some districts have implemented to contend with cuts in revenue.  It specifically prohibits the use of the additional funds for administrative expenses.

Vote Set for June 29  In February, Governor Christie proposed $10.2 billion in state spending for K-12 public education for 2011-2012.  That amount reflected a $219 million increase in direct state school aid over current-year amounts.  The additional $1 billion in the appropriations act would be over above the $219 million increase in the governor’s proposed budget.

The state’s new budget year begins July 1.  And the full Senate and Assembly are expected to approve the budget Wednesday, June 29, after which the appropriations act will go to the governor.  Before he takes action on the bill, however, the governor may strike expenditures from it, with no requirement for further input from the Legislature.  Governor Christie disagrees with the revenue projections provided by the Office of Legislative Services, amounts that are significantly greater than those announced by the state Treasurer and which form the basis for the additional $1 billion in school aid.

Millionaires’ Tax  The Legislature’s appropriations act calls for no new taxes.  However, a separate set of bills—S-2969/A-4202 and S-2970/A-4203—released by the budget panels Monday would establish a state income tax surcharge on annual earnings above $1 million, generating an additional $458 million for education in 2011-2012.  Together with the governor’s recommended state aid increase of $219 million and the additional $1 billion provided by the Legislature’s appropriations act, the $458 million produced by the “millionaires’ tax” would result in full funding of the School Funding Reform Act foronly the second time since its enactment in 2008.

But beyond the Legislature’s likely approval of S-2970/A-4203, the prognosis for the millionaire’s tax is not good: Governor Christie has insisted that he will veto any proposal that would increase or create new state taxes.

The New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of 587 local boards of education and includes 62 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.