Legislators
mull easing limits on school spending
Monday, December 13, 2004 • BY JOHN MOONEY
• Star-Ledger Staff
The idea of the law was to somehow trim the biggest
piece of New Jersey's infamous property taxes: school
spending.
Enacted in the late hours of budget deliberations last
summer and signed by former Gov. James E. McGreevey, the law
put new limits on schools' administrative costs, trimmed how
much districts could keep as surplus and placed tighter caps
on spending overall.
But six months later, the measure has brought far more
anger than savings from schools, with parents, teachers and
others filling local meetings across the state to hear
warnings of looming cuts.
Roxbury High School's principal implored the audience at
his school's musical last week to get better informed on the
law and its impact. A Bergen County school left petitions
outside its winter choral performance. And Sussex County
schools are holding their own rally later this month.
Legislators apparently are listening. A few of the
measure's original sponsors and supporters are now moving to
scale back some restrictions. How much will be changed
remains uncertain.
Nine bills have been proposed to change the law, known
simply by its Senate bill number, S1701. They range from one
Republican-sponsored measure to repeal it altogether to
Democratic proposals that exclude some of the more onerous
and unpredictable costs from the limits.
Among the latter proposals is one sponsored by
Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-Union), who was among the
sponsors of S1701's companion bill in the Assembly. He said
Friday that he won't budge on some of the central elements
of the law, but would support more flexibility for costs
districts can't control, such as special education and
health insurance.
"I disagree with those who say every part is a burden
and should be repealed," Cryan said. "The law is doing what
it is supposed to do. But we've heard (critics) on some of
the issues like health care costs. They have made valid
points, and we will respond accordingly."
But acting Gov. Richard Codey, who is also the Senate
president, has yet to take a stand. On Friday, his
spokeswoman made only a general statement about Codey's wish
for all branches of local and state government "to do our
part to keep spending down."
The original measure was spurred by McGreevey, who made
school spending a prime target in his final year in office
and took special aim at school administrative costs.
But school officials and lobbyists disputed McGreevey's
claims and redirected much of the blame at the state's
static funding increases for most schools the past three
years.
The New Jersey School Boards Association surveyed its
members and said deep cuts would be unavoidable under the
law, especially affecting after-school and extracurricular
programs, student busing and even class sizes.
Most harmful, they said, were new restrictions that
would require schools to keep no more than a 3 percent
surplus, leaving them little for unexpected costs. The law
also reduces the cap on spending increases overall to 2.5
percent or the consumer price index, whichever is higher.
This year it will be 3.1 percent.
As districts begin developing their budgets, the
pressure has increased in many communities and started to
catch the attention of parents and teachers. The Garden
State Coalition of Schools, representing more than 100
mostly suburban districts, has organized community meetings
throughout the state, including four this month.
On Thursday night, more than 100 people weathered a
rainy night to attend a meeting at Glen Ridge's Ridgewood
Avenue School.
"You put all these (restrictions) together and it really
will level down New Jersey's public schools," said Lynne
Strickland, the coalition's director. "The idea of staff
cuts, that's not just guesswork, but really likely."
The audience was receptive, seizing up pre-printed
postcards to send to legislators and expressing worries that
their children could be affected.
"It's upsetting," said Scott Terpin, a third-year math
and science teacher in Glen Ridge. "We're going to get hit
pretty hard by this, and it's only the kids who will
suffer."
John Mooney covers education. He can be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com or (973) 392-1548.
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
|