The Governor and the State Senate President are both touting two very different school funding plans.
The final caps have been tossed and classrooms closed up, but as summer gets underway, New Jersey's schools are still taking centerstage.
Both Senate President Steve Sweeney and Governor Chris Christie will spend the foreseeable future rallying support for each of their school-funding plans, two vastly different approaches to fixing the long-standing issue of inequitable state aid to N.J. schools.
Sweeney's proposal uses the current, state Supreme Court-approved school funding formula which takes into account a district's wealth, enrollment, and other mitigating factors. Current disparities in state aid come down to the fact more than 80 percent of the state's districts are underfunded based on the formula Sweeney said during an editorial board meeting with the South Jersey Times.
Sweeney's bill calls for a $500 million increase in school funding over five years and establishes a bipartisan commission -- two members would be appointed by the governor, one by Sweeney and the other by the Assembly speaker -- to come up with recommendations to fix the inequalities.
In contrast, Christie's plan scraps the 2008 funding formula and instead sets a flat figure for each pupil in the state. Under his plan, wealthier districts would see massive increases in state funding and poorer districts that currently rely on significant amounts of state aid would see drastic drops in funding.
Sweeney called Christie's plan "not just unconstitutional but unconscionable" and a non-starter that won't come to fruition.
He's arguing that principals, superintendents and educators largely back his proposal -- so we called up the heads of South Jersey districts that would see a major impact under either plan to get their take.
Haddonfield Township Schools Superintendent Richard Perry
Haddonfield regularly tops the list of the best-performing school districts in the state, yet the affluent town's school district is the most underfunded in N.J. based on the current funding formula.
It's created an imbalance Perry would be eager to see resolved, but he doesn't think either plan is the silver bullet to get the job done.
"I would like to see [school funding] be a little more proportionate and I would like to see us getting the funding we need to truly run our district," said Perry, who added high-performing schools should not be penalized via aid for doing well. "We're always looking to improve, we have needs like all other schools."
While Christie's plan would bring down an average Haddonfield homeowner's tax bill by nearly $3,000, he said since the bulk of it is directed toward tax relief, it wouldn't be a windfall for the school district and would likely spur serious problems in Camden, just a few miles down the road.
"It's not really solving the problem," Perry said. "I think there should be more balance, and I think Sweeney's plan is more balanced."
Washington Township Schools Superintendent Joe Bollendorf
A big reduction in state aid in Washington Township -- which is technically 140 percent overfunded based on the current funding formula -- worries Bollendorf.
The district has only recently begun digging its way out of the grim financial situation a sharp cut to state aid put them in in 2010, and they're still a long way to full fiscal recovery, he said.
"We're very much just watching and waiting and seeing, and when we have the opportunity to weigh-in, we fully intend to weigh-in. I know our board is very eager and watching this very, very closely," said Bollendorf.
He's not sold on Christie's plan based on the serious impacts it would have on poorer districts, however, and is hopeful that any recommendation to come out of the commission created in Sweeney's proposal would plan carefully, reduce aid gradually and most importantly, provide all of the funds needed to keep districts fully funded.
"[Sweeney] is looking to create greater equity. Any loss of dollars the township could see could be mitigated by any funding formula they put forward to be fully funded," said Bollendorf. "No plan should devastate any one particular district."
Camden City Schools
Christie's plan would mean a 78 percent reduction in state aid for Camden City's chronically struggling schools, a massive blow that, by all estimates, would have a drastic impact.
The district's statement on the issue at hand is simple.
"We're learning more about this proposal and plan to listen as discussions continue over the coming weeks and months," said district spokesman Brendan Lowe in a written statement. Lowe said the district is monitoring Sweeney's proposal as well.
Kingsway Regional Schools Superintendent Jim Lavender
Kingsway is one of a handful of school districts labeled as "super-growth" in the past few years. Population in the four towns that feed the middle and high school district have increased drastically bringing hundreds of new students to its hallways. Under the current funding formula, Kingsway has only been receiving about 43 percent of what it should have been.
Under Christie's plan Kingsway could see an additional $3,038 per student coming into its budget, but that's not enough for Lavender to support it.
"Chris Christie's plan, I think it's shameful. I don't know if it's some sort of political game, but it's pitting suburban and wealthy districts against our urban districts," he said. "I can't see any school administrator being behind it."
While Kingsway is one of the more suburban districts with a wealthier tax base, and Lavender wants to make sure it gets every bit of funding it deserves, he believes that taking massive amounts of funding from the poorest areas is a disservice to those who need it the most.
"I am behind Senate President Steve Sweeney 100 percent. The funding formula itself had bi-partisan support, it was constitutional. The bottom line is the governor hasn't funded that formula," he said.
Woodbury Schools Superintendent Joseph Jones
In Woodbury, where Christie's plan would take about $1,500 of funding per student, the superintendent argues it would do more harm to communities that need help.
"It's not meeting the needs of what kids in different communities face," Jones said. "While it's equal, it does not equate to fairness from our perspective...This is pitting a significant portion of the population against communities in need."
The existing school funding formula correctly addresses students from "difficult economic" backgrounds and English as a second language learners, he said.
"The formula recognizes that they are going to need more funds. When that formula was first passed in the Corzine administration the money was to follow the most needy kids," he said. "This really moves in a very different way."
Jones agrees with Sweeney in that the existing formula should be funded properly and he and his school board are planning on actively fighting Christie' idea.
"Woodbury is on board with Sen. Sweeney's idea that the existing plan needs to be fixed. We have a very good plan, but that plan is not being correctly implemented," he said. "What the formula calls for, we believe is fair. There are differing needs for different school districts."