In December and early January, Our Children/Our Schools spearheaded mobilization against the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 (SFRA). The campaign brought out hundreds of parents and education advocates from around the state, all converging on the Statehouse to inform legislators that support for adequate school funding had not waned. That battle was lost as the SFRA passed the State Senate and Assembly by the slimmest of margins. But the school funding war rages on.

Now, OC/OS is bringing the fight to the NJ Supreme Court. On Monday, September 22, at 9 a.m. – one hour before Court proceedings in the latest round of the Abbott v. Burke case – public education supporters will rally in front of the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex on Market Street in Trenton.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. The Supreme Court will decide whether or not it is constitutional to apply the SFRA to the Abbott districts, thereby wiping out the Abbott designation and the landmark Abbott remedies. Those remedies include equal per-pupil funding in the state’s poorest urban and most successful suburban districts, supplemental funding for programs to address the effects of concentrated poverty and racial segregation, and accountability measures to ensure that state aid is spent on programs that specifically address the needs of at-risk children.

OC/OS members decided that the Court, as well as the State Legislature and the press, need a strong reminder of the widespread support that exists for Abbott – what many consider to be the most significant education decision in this country since the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education over 50 years ago.

Though the NJ Supreme Court won’t issue a decision on September 22, the justices will hear, on the one hand, from lawyers representing the State Attorney’s General Office and, on the other, from the Education Law Center (ELC), on behalf of the more than 300,000 poor, urban schoolchildren in the Abbott districts.

Representatives from Abbott and non-Abbott districts will rally together on September 22, understanding the threat posed by the SFRA to all New Jersey schools.

Several dozen high-achieving suburban districts, under the umbrella of the organization Dollar$ and Sense, submitted an Amicus ("friend of the court") brief to the Supreme Court in the current case. The brief exposes the inadequacy of the SFRA’s "adequacy" amount governing per-pupil expenditures in all districts, and shows that 383 of the state’s 595 operating school districts spend over the State-imposed "adequacy budget."

Dollar$ and Sense understands that the consequences of the SFRA will be the leveling down of suburban district spending to reduce the disparity between urban and suburban schools. This will put suburban districts on a slope toward mediocrity instead of bringing all schools up to an adequate level of spending to ensure that every student has an opportunity for success.

In addition to Dollar$ and Sense, several education, child advocacy and civil rights organizations, as well as Abbott districts, submitted Amicus briefs to the Court. You can read a summary of the main points contained in these briefs here. Links to the complete briefs and other legal documents submitted in the case can be found by visiting the webpage Abbott Case Resources on the OC/OS website.

OC/OS has asked Amicus filers and others to participate in a press conference that will take place during the rally. Representing diverse constituencies, but united in support for equitable and adequate school funding, these speakers will address, among other things, the need to protect Abbott preschool gains, to continue the hard work of wiping out the disadvantages of racial segregation and poverty in the Abbott districts, to provide all NJ children with a "thorough and efficient" education.

Mobilization for September 22 has been underway for weeks. Mobilization flyers have been circulated, and outreach to the press will follow. Buses are being organized to take people from various locations to Trenton. Several hundred supporters are expected. Please join us on this important day when we show public support for Abbott, for equitable and adequate funding, and for the children of New Jersey.

For more information about the September 22 rally, please contact:
info@ourchildrenourschools.org.

Prepared: September 4, 2008