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In the most significant change in New Jersey education in years, the Corzine Administration is set to propose a new school-funding formula. This new formula would replace the Comprehensive Educational Improvement and Financing Act of 1996, the formula that the state has all but abandoned for six consecutive years.
School board members need to be prepared to speak to local citizens, as well as legislators and policymakers. Here are key concerns:
Property Tax Reform
- The new formula should be reliable and sustainable. Districts that commit to programs should not find later that the state aid they relied on has evaporated.
- NJSBA seeks a shift away from the over-reliance on the local property tax. The average state pays about half of the cost of its public schools, while New Jersey’s state government covers only 37 percent, according to the National Education Association.
- The proposed formula would continue to base the local district’s contribution to public schools on property wealth and personal income. But property wealth alone is the best way to determine a school district’s fair share of education costs because New Jersey communities can only tax property, not income.
Timelines
- School districts need a new formula for 2008-09, but we want a new formula done right. Haste caused problems with previous funding formulas. Although no legislation has been introduced, the administration wants a new formula enacted during the Legislature’s lame duck session, which ends at the beginning of January. Careful review requires more time.
Special Education
- NJSBA supports the current practice of distributing state special education aid based on students' educational eligibility—and not on community wealth, an approach being discussed in the state. Providing special education aid on a wealth-basis would only push more of the cost of the state and federally mandated program onto already stressed school districts.
- NJSBA research found that poverty does not contribute substantially to learning disability.
Equal Educational Opportunity
- A school-funding formula must enable children to achieve the state's education standards, regardless of the community where they live.
Hold Harmless
- The governor seeks to hold schools harmless for two years, which means they would not lose aid. However, all school districts have incurred increased costs. Plus, what will happen after the two-year hold-harmless provision expires?
Adequacy
- The formula must be based on a realistic level of spending per pupil that is tied directly to the state’s academic standards. Cost assumptions should not be backed into a predetermined level of spending.
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