Governor Jon Corzine’s FY08 state budget includes a proposed across-the-board 3% increase in aid for all school districts and a targeted increase to expand supplemental programs in low-income districts with high concentrations of special needs students. But the proposed budget also raises many questions about how the new funds can be used, and about funding for Court-mandated Abbott programs.

The 3% across-the-board increase means most NJ districts would receive a boost in state school aid for the first time in five years. However, as the details of the aid distribution were made public, it became clear that the increases were much less than districts had hoped for. The modest aid increases are well below the amounts needed to offset the failure to fund the school funding law, the Comprehensive Education Improvement and Financing Act (CEIFA), since 2003. The Star Ledger reported on March 1 that one suburban district, Washington Township in Mercer County, "responded to a $67,500 boost in aid by filing a lawsuit in federal court yesterday alleging that the state's continued refusal to fund the school aid formula since 2002 has cost the township $12 million."

In addition to the 3% base aid increase, low-income districts would receive targeted aid to expand "supplemental" programs that have proven successful in the urban Abbott districts. The State currently provides approximately $80 million to support such programs in school districts with 20% or more low-income students. The Governor is proposing a $66 million increase to expand programs such as preschool, full-day kindergarten and intensive early literacy, which are already mandated in the Abbott districts, to more special needs children.

Shortly after this aid increase was announced, some districts raised concerns about a stipulation by the NJ Department of Education restricting the new funds to "new" programs. The districts have complained that this restriction may prevent districts from sustaining reforms they have already implemented, or otherwise limit their ability to meet student needs. The districts are urging NJDOE to collaborate with them on more flexible guidelines.

The Governor’s budget also sets aside approximately $124 million in additional state aid for needs-based funding requests from Abbott districts.

Under current regulations, Abbott districts can apply for "supplemental" state aid to support "demonstrably-needed" programs. These requests for supplemental funds must be submitted along with regular district budgets to the NJDOE by March 20th. The regulations require NJDOE to review the submissions, and issue decisions by the end of May. Districts then have a right to appeal the NJDOE decisions to the Office of Administrative Law and, if necessary, to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court.

Last year, the Supreme Court granted the NJDOE’s request to "flat fund" Abbott districts by suspending the districts’ ability to seek Abbott supplemental funds. The Court’s order was limited to one-year, and does not apply to the district’s FY08 budgets.

For the 06-07 school year, Abbott districts operated without any funding increase. As a result, they will have to carefully assess the funding needed just to maintain mandated instructional and supplemental programs.

As in prior years, the Governor’s budget proposal represents the start of a Court-mandated process between NJDOE and the districts to analyze the districts’ budgets and decide on the level of funding necessary to sustain educational progress in those districts.

Parents, teachers and advocates are urged to monitor carefully the budget process and the submissions by their districts in order to make sure they adequately meet students’ needs.

Prepared: March 8, 2007