School Aid

Friday, February 25, 2011 The Record

Find this article at:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/editorials/116900703_School_aid.htm

AFTER more than $1 billion in unprecedented state aid cuts, school districts throughout New Jersey got a small boost from Governor Christie this week. His proposed state budget includes an additional $249 million in school aid next year, to about $7.7 billion.

This is a local anesthetic that will dull, but not discharge, their budget pain. Still, we feel it is worthy of mention. It is good to see Christie resume New Jersey's longstanding practice of investing in its public schools.

Every single district in the state would get some additional support, up to 1 percent of its total budget. Locally, the awards range from $406,000 in Glen Rock to $4.5 million in Paterson, Staff Writer Leslie Brody reported.

Superintendents reacted with an understandable mix of emotions, from relief to resignation. The $455,000 that the Westwood Regional School District could expect is a "nice gesture," said Superintendent Geoffrey Zoeller, but is so many drops in a bucket left dry after the district's entire $2.3 million aid award was cut this year.

All budgets are a statement of priorities, and Christie's values are on full display here. He would increase charter school aid by about $4 million and keep funding stable at non-public schools. His plan would spend another $11 million on the barely-there intradistrict school choice program. Whether that will entice high-performing schools to step forward and enroll out-of-towners remains to be seen.

Once again, Christie is proposing zero support for the crucial "New Jersey After 3" program, which provides safe, academically supportive and stimulating after-school programs for children in communities like Englewood, Passaic and Clifton. This deserves a higher spot on the governor's list of priorities. We were relieved to see a bipartisan coalition of legislators restore $3 million in funding in the current year's budget, along with a successful fund-raising campaign that raised $4.5 million. Let's do it again.

There are two major unknowns that could upend this budget proposal. First, an ill-considered bill could potentially kick off a voucher program in select cities funded by tax breaks to corporations, which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenues.

And second, a Supreme Court case calling for as much as $2 billion more in education spending statewide, which stems from the Abbott v. Burke court case. A ruling is due next month.

Happily, the governor's budget proposal does not call for cuts into a key program begun under Abbott: full-day preschool in poor cities. We're glad the governor resisted a suggestion by some Republicans in the Legislature to downsize to half-day programs and pass the savings on to suburban districts.

Time and again, research shows preschool is an effective way to target the achievement gap, because it promotes school readiness among children least likely to arrive in kindergarten prepared to learn. This is an expensive, but effective program that must grow in coming years — not only because it is worthy, but also because state law says all low-income children are entitled to it. Preschool is fully in line with the governor's commitment to increasing opportunities for poor students. It deserves his and the Legislature's unwavering support.