State
gets school district exit plan
Friday, September 30, 2005 • BY
JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff
After more than a decade of the state
running its three largest school districts, acting Gov.
Richard Codey this week signed into law a new monitoring
system that could shepherd the state finally out of these
districts.
The new system calls for a more measured
way for the state to step in when problems arise in any of
its 600-plus school districts, rather than the wholesale
takeover that took place in Newark, Paterson and Jersey
City.
Called the Quality Single Accountability
Continuum, the system also establishes a similar
step-by-step process for the state to exit those three
districts, with one of the law's chief sponsors saying some
controls could be ceded as soon as 2007.
"It's an excellent day for these
districts," said state Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex), a Senate
sponsor. "The state's been in there too long. We've realized
we can't run these districts, and it's not our job to do
so."
Even with the law's passage, many
questions remain -- and some local concerns -- in how the
law will take effect and the impact it will have. Some asked
whether it would it lead to even more state intervention in
districts, and whether the state even has the resources to
do so.
Much will hinge on the eventual
regulations developed by the state Department of Education
and the state Board of Education, a process that itself is
likely to take at least six months, officials
said.
"The law leaves a lot to be done through
the regulations," said acting Education Commissioner Lucille
Davy yesterday.
"My hope is a year from now we will be
operating under the new system," she said. "The sooner the
better."
The new system is the result of more than
three years of work that was first launched by former
Commissioner William Librera, and even discussed by his
predecessors. Ever since 1989 when New Jersey became the
first state to seize control of a whole district, the lack
of a clear exit strategy has been a vexing problem for state
officials.
The state took over Jersey City schools
in 1989, Paterson in 1991, and Newark in 1995, each for
various degrees of mismanagement and failure.
But even state officials have since
conceded takeovers have not brought the desired long-term
results. The schools have shown some recent performance
gains, but those are attributed more to the state's
court-ordered reforms in all of its neediest
districts.
The new QSAC system would combine more
than a dozen state and other reports into a single review
that looks at five broad areas: programs and instruction,
fiscal, operations, personnel and governance.
If problems are found in a district in
one or more areas, the state would offer assistance to
resolve them and potentially install outside experts to
oversee changes. As problems are resolved, the state's help
would be withdrawn.
"Under the old system, everything had to
be crumbling before the department could step in," said
Davy. "The goal now is not to ever have to get to that
point."
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com, or 973-392-1548.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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