NJ Education Report

NorthJersey, in “Fixing Abbott,” applauds Governor Corzine’s School Funding Reform Act and Judge Doyne’s ruling last week that allows the State to fund poor kids based on place of residence, regardless of whether they live in an Abbott district. The editorial opines,

We may never know exactly how much of those billions of dollars reached the classrooms of Paterson, Passaic, Garfield and the other Abbott districts and how much of that money did not. Suffice it to say that many children in New Jersey are still denied their constitutional right to a good education — and not all of them are in the Abbott districts.

The piece also notes that “the spending disparities no longer exist in the Abbott districts: They spend an average of $17,151 per student, while the wealthiest districts spend an average of $14,117.” What exactly is the correlation between funding per student and academic success? The SFRA adheres to the truism that poor kids require more money to achieve academically, and it seems logical. How much? What’s the formula? Privileged information, we suppose, since the D.O.E. was saved from having the Education Law Center’s eagle eyes poring over the data supporting the S.F.R.A. What’s the D.O.E. afraid of?

The Trenton Times deems the Supreme Court’s ruling, which keeps the D.O.E. data secret, “a very narrow interpretation of the sunshine law,” and recommends “more light.” A little more light from the D.O.E. would be both refreshing and helpful in resuscitating their credibility.