Of course there should be oversight to see that money isn't wasted, but I have no doubt that our schools need more. There's a big difference between the resources we have here and those in the suburbs. What amazes me is the cry when the state puts a limit on the money, but two weeks ago the city approved huge tax abatements for twenty and thirty years! That means a generation's worth of residents in those buildings won't be paying school taxes. Not my idea of a long-term plan.

I hope they don't cut the abbott programs, but it would be good if the state made sure people aren't getting rich off of stealiing funds. I wonder what they will find in auditing Jersey City's schools.


From the article:

The justices also ordered the Department of Education to go ahead with planned audits of four special needs districts -- Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Camden -- and set a November deadline for their completion. Farber had argued the audits are needed to ensure the poor districts are properly spending billions of dollars in state aid while candidly conceding the state has "neglected its responsibility to provide sufficient fiscal oversight."

Wow this is sad news for Jersey City Schools- anyone have their kids enrolled in public schools around here? love to hear some reaction..........

Court allows state to freeze aid to poorest districts

The New Jersey Supreme Court today (Tuesday) allowed the state to freeze aid to its 31 poorest school districts in order to balance the state budget, but also gave the districts a right to appeal for more funding.

The high court issued its unanimous ruling one week after it heard lawyers for the "special needs" school districts argue that with costs rising, flat state aid would translate into cuts in educational services. Attorney General Zulima Farber countered that given the state's "dire" budgetary circumstances, "we simply don't have the money" to increase educational funding.

The justices gave the special needs districts until May 31 to submit reduced budget requests, as Acting Education Commissioner Lucille Davy had ordered in March. In their original requests the 31 districts asked for roughly $500 million more than the $4.25 billion Corzine included in his proposed budget, which is subject to review by state lawmakers.

That much of today's ruling was a victory for Corzine's administration. But in a partial victory for the school districts, the justices gave them a right to appeal "inadequate funding" for "demonstrably needed" school programs. Corzine had proposed a strict budget cap that did not allow poor school districts to appeal the state's funding decisions.

The justices also ordered the Department of Education to go ahead with planned audits of four special needs districts -- Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Camden -- and set a November deadline for their completion. Farber had argued the audits are needed to ensure the poor districts are properly spending billions of dollars in state aid while candidly conceding the state has "neglected its responsibility to provide sufficient fiscal oversight."

David Wald, a spokesman for Farber, said she "believes this is an important decision that will help us to ensure funding is spent wisely and our children receive the education they deserve.''

Contributed by Robert Schwaneberg and Dunstan McNichol