State – Page 19 – Hank Kalet

A vote to delay?

As of now, it appears that the governor’s school-funding plan is not going to pass in the state Senate. This is not a bad thing — and not because the plan is flawed. It is because the plan is being rushed, because officials from school districts like South Brunswick, which appear to gain new funding, are concerned what will happen down the line. And because the concerns of urban educators need to be addressed — will this plan result in reduced funding?

Should the plan go down, I am hoping the governor will put it back on the table and the state Legislature slows the process down and answer the questions.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Quote of the day: Legislative quackery

Alfred Doblin provides us with today’s offering, from a column on the state Legislature’s busy agenda on its final day in session before new members are sworn in:

It’s puzzling why the last weeks of legislative sessions are called “lame duck.” Does any legislative body have the inside track on not being lame the rest of the year?

That is a question for the ages.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

E-mail me by clicking here.

Take a breath beforejudging school funding plan

Read these two editorials on the governor’s school aid plan — one in The Star-Ledger and one in the Asbury Park Press.

As expected, the Press takes a pretty dim view of the plan, railing against previous efforts to improve schooling in cities while accusing the governor of not doing enough to help suburban schools. The paper makes some valid points — lower-income districts have been ignored in the past, as have fast-growing districts. But the editorial also hits the governor and the Department of Education for something else, a knee-jerk opposition to spending money on education.

There are other, less parochial, reasons not to like the new school aid formula, beginning with its allocation of an additional $530 million in funding — little of which will be applied to property tax relief — and its failure to offset that increase with improved efficiencies and cost-cutting measures. New Jersey spends more on education than any state. Its deficiencies are related to waste, mismanagement, its profusion of school districts and overly generous employee benefits. New Jersey should be spending less money on education, not more. And it should be allocating it in a way that is fair to all taxpayers and all children in all communities.

Again, there are some valid points here. There is waste and there are too many districts. But spending less money is the wrong prescription. In fact, the state needs to pick up much more of the tab, lessening the need for local property taxes in the process. New Jersey — when all school spending, local and state, is taken into account — spends more on education than any other state; but as the Ledger points out, the state provides less of it than other states.

The issue, unfortunately, has never just been about the formula; rather, it has been the political will of both voters and legislators who have rarely funded school aid formulas to the level necessary. By shorting funding at the same time that the state is forced to meet the court funding mandate for urban schools, the Legislature creates the perceived imbalance, generating resentment among suburban voters.

It is time to take a breath, to slow the process so we can truly understand the ramifications. Jumping to conclusions, as the Press does in its editorial, does little to advance the discussion.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

E-mail me by clicking here.

New formula boosts aid to local schools

The governor has unveiled his new state aid formula and it appears that most districts in the state will be receiving something — at least for now. Beyond that, however, it is unclear what the longterm ramifications of the new aid formula will be.

As the Star-Ledger points out in its brief coverage so far, the formula still has to get through both houses of the state Legislature and then pass muster with the state Supreme Court — by no means a guaranteed outcome.

In the shorterm, however, all four of the districts covered by the South Brunswick Post and The Cranbury Press will be seeing increases in aid.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

E-mail me by clicking here.

A new Democrat, a new direction?

Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts maybe trying to take the state in a new direction, says Charles Stiles of The Record, and if he is successful he could provide the right blueprint for saving the state.

Roberts believes it’s time to more aggressively define what it is that constitutes a Democrat. But he has to do it in a way that either saves money or doesn’t cost much — a reverse of the “big-government, free-spending liberal” cliche.

Call it the Big Liberal, Small Wallet philosophy.

Roberts described it this way to Stiles:

“When we ask people to vote for Democrats, we just can’t say we’re not the other guys. We have to stand for something,” Roberts said in an interview Wednesday. “The abolition of the death penalty is fundamental. Creating an environment where every family can afford to live in every part of our state is fundamental. One of the things I took from Election Day is it’s back to basics. Don’t start spending money in new areas, don’t go extending your reach until you get focused on the fundamentals.”

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
Blog of South Brunswick

E-mail me by clicking here.