| Trenton
– Acting on behalf of the New Jersey
Department of Education, Attorney General
Zulima V. Farber today filed an application
before the New Jersey Supreme Court seeking
the court’s approval of Governor Jon
S. Corzine’s recommended school aid
budget for Fiscal Year 2007. The Governor’s
budget would distribute $4.253 billion to
the Abbott school districts, including $500
million in supplemental funding and $243
million in pre-school expansion aid. The
$243 million in pre-school aide represents
a $39 million increase from last year’s
funding level.
The
application before the court makes note
of Governor Corzine’s efforts to bring
the state’s budget into balance without
one-shot fiscal gimmicks and his decision
to hold state aid to all school districts
relatively level compared to the current
fiscal year. “In light of the dire
fiscal circumstances of the state and the
high per pupil spending already in existence
in the Abbott districts, the Governor could
not permit another year of open-ended increases
for Abbott districts, ‘’ the
Attorney General writes in her brief.
“Accountability
is the touchstone, but accountability can
only be achieved by the application of discernable
and recognizable outcome measures,’’
the application states.
“The
state has a responsibility to subject school
districts to the same level of management
oversight and fiscal discipline as the Governor
has applied to the Executive Department,’’
the application continues. “New Jersey
can no longer afford the open-ended process
of annual supplemental requests that have
led to the extraordinary growth in Abbott
district spending, especially when we lack
proof that the supplemental programs are
working.’’
In
making its application, the administration
commits to a new approach to school funding,
based on the needs of all children with
similar disadvantages, rather than residencies.
The administration pledged to establish
management and oversight to assure the efficient
use of state funds.
>>
Abbott
Brief (74k pdf) plug-in
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