Lawmakers Mull Regionalization

Merging New Jersey’s local school districts, or their critical functions, into 21 county-based systems is among concepts under discussion by joint legislative panels on property tax reform.

On Aug. 30, Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), co-chairman of the consolidation/shared services committee, said he would like to see the state create 21 countywide school systems, similar to ones in Florida, Maryland and Virginia. Additionally, he noted support for the concept of consolidating functions, such as purchasing, human resources, administration and, possibly, transportation, at the county level.

Turmoil, Disruption Ernest Reock, professor emeritus at Rutgers, the State University, told the panel that New Jersey could save $65 million in administrative costs and $365 million overall by merging elementary-school districts with secondary-school systems.

“It appears that there are potential cost savings that could be made through consolidation, especially in administrative costs,” Reock told the panel. “Whether they are large enough to justify the turmoil and the disruption involved is open to serious question.”

NJSBA: Voluntary Regionalization NJSBA supports school district consolidation when the communities involved agree to the plan and when it produces educational benefits. The Association does not believe that the Legislature should mandate school district mergers because, in many cases, regionalization could cost more.

County Profile On Aug. 25, Michael Griffith, education finance consultant to the National Conference of State Legislatures, told the school funding reform committee that consolidating school districts by itself would not produce real savings, although closing individual school buildings and reducing staff could reduce costs.

He noted that New Jersey’s current municipal-based school district structure is common among states in the Northeast, including New York and Pennsylvania, and parts of the mid-West. The county-based districts found in many areas of the south reflect the government structure in those states.

For consolidation to occur in New Jersey, Griffith said the state would have to identify suitable districts and mandate mergers. A similar process is now taking place in Arkansas.

The government consolidation/shared services and school funding committees are two of four joint panels formed over the summer to develop solutions to New Jersey’s property tax problem. Other panels are reviewing benefits reform and whether the state should conduct a constitutional convention to address property tax reform. The committees are expected to develop proposals for adoption by the Legislature by the end of the year.