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In a shift, funds for poorest schools will remain flat
Tuesday, February 27, 2007 • BY KATIE WANG • Star-Ledger Staff

The Corzine administration re leased its school aid packages yesterday, showering many middle-class districts with at least a 10 percent increase in funding, marking the largest hike they have seen in years.

At the same time, the governor held the line on funding for the Abbott schools -- the state's 31 poorest districts, which for years have watched their state aid increase while most other districts have re mained nearly stagnant.

"I think this is very positive news for many, many districts that have not received increases in state aid for the last several years," said state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy. "It is a recognition on the governor's part that there is an impact on these districts not receiving the aid."

Lynne Strickland, executive director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, an organization that has been vocally critical of the state's funding formula, applauded this year's packages.

"Aid has been held in check for so long that the overwhelming majority of regular operating school districts have all suffered without this support to varying degrees," said Strickland, whose group represents 110 of the state's wealthier communities. "We hope that this kind of state support will become a trend."

But the aid packages were a blow for Abbott districts, such as Phillipsburg. The Warren County district saw its aid shrink by 0.7 percent -- a decrease of $270,000.

"It's a struggle, no doubt," said Business Administrator Bill Poch. "We were hoping we would get a 3 percent increase, not a decrease."

Poch said Phillipsburg will try to submit a needs-based budget that justifies to the state why it needs funding help.

Corzine has said that Abbott districts must make a convincing case before they receive additional funding this year.

The district, which in the last two years has had to cut out security officers at its elementary school, was hoping to reinstate them.

In some cases, part of the state aid must be spent in specific areas.

For example, the Newton School District stands to receive an 8 percent increase of $422,000. Of that amount, $170,250 is "new" state aid in a category called Tar geted At-Risk Aid that can only be spent on expanding pre-school programs or enhancing literacy in grades K-8, said Newton schools Business Administrator Donna Snyder.

That means the targeted aid cannot get lumped into the school budget to be used for regular current expenses, Snyder said.

"So, in essence our increase in state aid was $251,000, or 4.7 percent," said Snyder, adding, "In our district, we're always grateful for any money we get."

Superintendent James O'Neill, who heads up the School District of the Chathams, called the figures a small step in the right direction. The district expects to get an additional $82,000, which O'Neill said is not enough to beef up staff or add programs. The district's overall budget is roughly $46 million.

"The state has a long way to go for us to reach what I would call a fair allotment in a new state aid formula," he said. "This gives me no chance to have any significant impact on the taxes that senior citizens pay."

Parsippany Superintendent Lee Seitz said in a $113 million budget, the new aid does not offer any tax relief, meaningful or otherwise. Seitz calculated that the $196,741 increase in aid comes to .0017 percent of the district's $113 million budget.

"It clearly demonstrates the severity of the property tax problem and how much more the state must do if they are ever going to provide meaningful property tax relief," Seitz said.

West Orange Mayor John F. McKeon welcomed his district's 14 percent increase, but said the money is nothing compared to the millions the district is required to spend for other state-mandated programs. The district is slated to receive $8.3 million in state aid -- an increase of roughly $1 million from last year.

"It's woefully inadequate in light of our challenges and similar districts on the urban rim," said McKeon. "If the government and state want to bring equity to the system we need to retool the school aid formula."

Bloomfield Superintendent Frank Digesere agreed. If districts are required to fulfill state mandates, he said, then the state should offer more help to middle- class districts like his. The state is proposing to give Bloomfield $16.5 million, an increase of 8.5 percent.

"It's the districts that aren't Ab botts and aren't affluent that struggle," said Digesere. "We're being choked to death because we can't afford to pay the taxes that the Livingstons and the Millburns are paying. We're dying here."

In Montclair, Frank Alvarez, the schools superintendent, described the district's first increase in state aid since 2001 as a "significant benefit" even as policymakers continue to struggle with budget-cutting.

Montclair is to receive $528,961 more in state aid, a 6.6 percent bump-up that brings the figure to $8.56 million.

"We have already cut $1.7 million, and we are still $2 million over cap," he said of a school budget that is still a work-in-progress. "So a 6 percent increase in state aid will help tremendously."

In Belleville, the news meant programs on the chopping block could be rescued, said Ed Appleton, the district's business administrator.

"That 6 percent increase is very nice," he said. "This budget is diffi cult, and if you can give me a couple of extra bucks for anything, I'll be more than willing to take it."

The state raced to revamp its funding formula in time for this year's budget, but abandoned those efforts because it ran out of time. Corzine last week unveiled his spending plan for the 2008 fiscal year that begins July 1.

Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said Corzine's shift in spending is a significant policy change, but it will take much more money to help middle-class schools.

In some cases, such as in Woodbridge, the state aid saved administrators from making painful cuts. Woodbridge Township schools got an 11 percent increase, the largest in Middlesex County.

"We're pleased because we heard some of the districts are get ting 3 percent," said Woodbridge Superintendent Vincent Smith. "We're excited. It's a good thing for the taxpayers."

But even districts that were just getting 3 percent increases were pleased.

Sandyston-Walpack received a 3 percent increase in state aid on top of money for its full-day kindergarten program.

"That part was a nice little surprise for us today," said Superintendent Glen Sumpman. "It's bet ter than what we thought we were going to get."

Middle-class districts get boost in aid

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