NJ Education Report

Education Law Center has released a statement and accompanying powerpoint that asserts the following:

As outlined in the [Ed. Comm.] Cerf [Education Funding] Report, the Governors proposed FY13 Budget, if adopted by the Legislature, would implement major changes in NJs school funding formula – the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) – that will trigger substantial cuts in funding for districts across the state in 2012-13. The Governor has made clear that he intends to impose these changes to the SFRA formula not just next year, but for the following four years. Put simply, the Governor intends to use the annual budget bill to make these changes permanent, bypassing the legislative process of amending the SFRA formula law.

What is also clear is that the changes proposed by the Governor would radically alter the SFRA formula from what the Legislature adopted in 2008 with bipartisan support. These changes include substantial reductions in funding for low income (at-risk) students, high poverty districts and charter schools, and English language learners (ELL). In addition, the Governor is proposing to change the method of counting students for school aid from the current enrollment method to average daily attendance, a widely discredited methodology that would cut funding to the states high need districts and charter schools.