School
dilemma is one they agree on
Sunday, October 16, 2005 • BY
JOHN MOONEY • Star-Ledger Staff
When New Jersey's massive schools
construction effort imploded this year, both Doug Forrester
and Jon Corzine quickly chastised the program for its waste
and mismanagement.
But in a rare agreement between the
candidates for governor, both say they would meet the
state's court-imposed obligation to pay for new and
refurbished schools in 31 needy districts -- although they
would take slightly different approaches.
"We have both a legal and a moral
obligation," Forrester, the Republican candidate,
said.
"I'm going to fulfill the constitutional
obligation," said Corzine, the Democratic U.S.
Senator.
The public appears to support that
stance. A recent Star-Ledger/ Eagleton-Rutgers Poll found 52
percent of registered voters want the state to raise the
money to finish the planned construction. Only 15 percent
said no more state money should be sunk into the program,
while 27 percent said local districts should share the
costs.
The question of how to proceed with the
program -- which spent all of its $6 billion on less than a
third of its planned projects -- is just one of several
pressing school issues facing the next governor. Most center
on financing both the needy districts covered by the state
Supreme Court's Abbott vs. Burke rulings and schools in
middle-class communities feeling squeezed by rising
costs.
Neither candidate has made education a
major campaign issue, but there are difference in their
approaches. The school construction troubles are a case in
point.
Both have slammed the Schools
Construction Corp., which has been blamed for the shortfall
and misspending in the building program.
Forrester has said the SCC should be
abolished altogether, saying it reflects the corruption of
the Democratic Party now in power at the Statehouse. Corzine
says it should undergo sweeping fiscal reforms, some of
which are under way.
But while Forrester has consistently said
the state should finish the job, Corzine hedged earlier this
month. He said a statewide referendum should be held to
decide on any borrowing to re-fund the program, with the
districts possibly picking up some of the tab.
On Friday, Corzine amended that, saying
even if a bond referendum failed, the state would pay for
construction in the poorest districts as required by Abbott
ruling. "That's a point I guess I didn't make clear enough,"
Corzine told The Star-Ledger's editorial board.
Forrester's position seems to put him at
odds with a majority of voters in his own party, according
to the Star-Ledger/ Eagleton-Rutgers Poll. More than half of
Republicans surveyed wanted to either cut off funding (23
percent) or have districts share the costs (30
percent).
But support for state funding was strong
among Democrats (62 percent) and independents (50 percent).
The random telephone poll of 706 registered voters Oct. 3 to
5 had a margin of error of 3.7 percent.
On other issues, the two candidates have
largely kept to traditional party lines, although some
education advocates have voiced frustration that neither
candidate has addressed the current financial squeeze on
many schools.
"Both have been very standoffish on
school funding," said Lynne Strickland, director of the
Garden State Coalition of Schools, a suburban schools group.
"It's the elephant in the room. ... Whoever is elected will
not be able to avoid it."
Corzine said he would support a
constitutional convention to revamp the way New Jersey pays
for public schools, but offered only broad ideas of a
"progressive tax" -- possibly on income or luxury sales --
to replace the current reliance on property
taxes.
Forrester has opposed a convention as
currently proposed, saying school finance should be left up
to the Legislature, and has signed a "no new tax" pledge. He
has not proposed a school funding plan, only saying he would
continue the state's support of public education and that
schools would not be hurt under his property tax relief
plan.
"Priorities like education will not have
to shift," Sherry Sylvester, Forrester's spokeswoman, said
on Friday. "It's a key priority for him."
Another looming issue for the next
governor is the fate of the Abbott reforms. Schools in the
31 districts falling under the rulings have begun to show
some gains under the court's mandates of universal preschool
and other improvements.
But resistance has mounted to the more
than $1 billion in extra state aid sent to those schools,
which helps lift several of the districts to among the
highest spending in the nation.
Forrester has said he would comply with
the rulings as they stand. But he said he would seek to
appoint Supreme Court justices willing to revisit the
decisions in the face of fiscal pressures. The next governor
will have two new appointments to the high court, including
the chief justice, and three reappointments.
"The tension between Abbotts and
non-Abbotts is very high," Forrester said. "I want to be
sure we have justices ... respecting that lawmakers are
trying to deal with this problem."
Corzine has said he would consider
revising the current formula that has the state funding the
Abbott districts to levels that match and even exceed
spending in the state's wealthiest districts.
But again, he toned that down last week
to say he is not looking to reduce Abbott funding and only
wants to ensure the money is well spent. "I'm not looking to
cut, but to expand," he said.
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at
jmooney@star ledger.com or (973) 392-1548.
© 2005 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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