Fiscal safety net backed for Abbott schools

The judge charged with reviewing the Corzine administration's new schools-funding formula recommended yesterday that New Jersey's top court approve the plan if the state provides at least three years of supplemental funding for 31 low-income, largely urban school districts.

"The potential harm to the students in the Abbott districts outweighs the [state's] assertion there shall be no need for supplemental funding, at least until the realities of implementation are known," wrote Judge Peter E. Doyne, the Bergen County jurist assigned by the state Supreme Court to examine arguments for and against the funding formula.

Doyne's decision calls for at least a temporary financial safety net for the so-called Abbotts should they need it. But its recommendations also could pave the way for phasing out a court-ordered system that, for years, has given those districts a large share of available state aid.

In November, the Supreme Court decided to appoint a special master to investigate arguments by the state and by Abbott advocates.

The Corzine administration championed the new funding formula as more equitable way to distribute aid, including to low-income children outside Abbott districts.

The Abbotts and their representatives argued that the formula could undo gains in the struggling districts. They asked the Supreme Court to find the change unconstitutional because of the dire consequences it would have for their children.

In this school year, the first under the formula, most Abbott districts received the smallest aid increases given. In the next school year, most are projected to get no increase. The local Abbott districts are Camden, Burlington City, Gloucester City, and Pemberton Township.

State officials applauded Doyne's provisional approval of the funding strategy.

"I think it represents a significant victory for all school children," Gov. Corzine said in a statement.

"We felt the judge clearly found the new funding formula was designed to provide a thorough and efficient education, as required by the constitution," said David Wald, spokesman for the state attorney general.

Wald said the state disagreed that supplemental funding was necessary. It plans to argue against that recommendation when the case goes back to the court.

Doyne's decision received bipartisan support in the Assembly Education Committee.

Chairman Joseph Cryan (D., Union) said Doyne had "validated the approach the Legislature and Gov. Corzine took to ensure every child gets the educational help they need no matter where they live."

Assemblyman David W. Wolfe (R., Ocean), a fellow committee member, said he hoped the Supreme Court would accept Doyne's recommendation.

In his decision, it was clear Doyne was unconvinced by arguments that the Abbott districts could not withstand a reduction in funding.

"To argue there are no inefficiencies within a district and that every dollar spent currently is necessary to provide a thorough and efficient education is simply unreasonable," he wrote.

Under the federal stimulus package, the Abbott districts stand to get about $114 million, along with many millions in other federal aid, Doyne added.

"These monies cannot be blithely ignored," he wrote.

The Education Law Center, which represents the Abbotts, vowed yesterday to continue to fight the formula in Supreme Court.

David Sciarra, the center's executive director, called on the Corzine administration to act quickly to give the Abbott districts the opportunity to apply for supplemental funding for the next school year. The money, he said, is "a necessary lifeline for students in these districts."