Christie's proposal includes a total of $8.1B in aid, an increase from last year's $7.8B; the bulk of the increase would help fund teachers' salaries, supplies Watch video
TRENTON — Something is better than nothing.
That was the reaction in many New Jersey school districts Tuesday to Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed $249.3 million increase of state school aid, one year after the governor slashed spending for schools by $820 million.
"Is this better than cutting? Absolutely. Did we all worry that it (aid) would go down? We did. We are at the precipice; if aid had been cut further, there would be no way to protect all of our programs," said Julia Walker, school board president in Westfield, where state aid was slashed by $4.5 million last year.
In Perth Amboy, School Superintendent John Rodecker said he also worried that aid might be reduced further in the coming budget. His large, urban district lost $8 million in state aid last year.
"Anything that’s additional would be welcome," he said. "Until I see what our figures are, I can only hope for the best."
Christie’s proposed budget includes a total of $8.1 billion in state aid to schools, an increase from last year’s $7.8 billion. The bulk of the increase would come in formula aid — money that goes to districts for things such as teachers’ salaries and supplies.
Christie, in his budget speech, said every district in the state — there are about 600 — will receive increased aid.
The governor handed some of his largest percentage increases toward school choice and charter schools. Aid for charter schools was increased by about 50 percent to $13.1 million. School choice aid — which allows children to attend schools in other districts — was more than doubled to $22.3 million.
Department of Education spokesman Alan Guenther said individual districts today are expected to receive aid figures. None will receive an increase larger than 1 percent of its total budget, he said.
In many districts, where budget preparation is in full swing, officials were hesitant to count any increased dollars until they see their own aid numbers. "Until we see how it comes down, ‘an increase of $249 million’ can mean many things," said Montgomery School Superintendent Earl Kim.
Christie’s budget did not include any overhaul of the school funding formula, something he has hinted at, nor did he endorse a proposal by Senate Republicans to slash funding for preschool in poor districts, in order to boost funding in suburban districts.
The funding formula is currently before the state Supreme Court, in a motion brought by the Newark school advocacy group Education Law Center, which could force Christie to spend even more on schools.
David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center, said Christie’s budget shows "another year in which our formula remains underfunded," and called the $249 million increase "not nearly enough." He also rued the lack of expansion of preschool in nonurban high-needs districts.
The president of the New Jersey Education Association, meanwhile, said she was "very happy" about the $249 million. But union president Barbara Keshishian expressed concern that it would "end up being paid for by some other increase in the amounts that school employees are going to have to pay."
Christie’s budget also covers higher education. After their budgets were slashed last year, the state’s public college presidents were relieved to hear the state’s four-year public colleges wouldn’t be cut again this year. The governor’s budget proposal calls for $714 million in operating aid for the four-year schools, the same as last year.
Unlike last year, Christie does not plan to impose a tuition cap on the public four-year colleges. Last year, the schools were forced to keep their tuition hikes to 4 percent or less, a number college officials complained was chosen arbitrarily. Earlier this year, Christie conceded the tuition caps may have been unwise and the four-year schools should set their own tuition.
By Jeanette Rundquist and Kelly Heyboer/The Star-Ledger