New Jersey GOP gubernatorial candidate Christie backs school vouchers

New Jersey Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher J. Christie pledged yesterday to create a school voucher program that allows students from failing districts to attend schools in districts that accept them.

In a conference call about the state's fiscal crisis, Christie decried the high costs of education in 31 mostly poor districts where the state is under a court order to spend additional money. About 55 percent of state education aid goes to those districts - known as the Abbott districts - which educate about 23 percent of New Jersey's students.

Christie would address the cost problems, in part, by giving parents vouchers for schools outside of those failing school districts. That means, for example, a student in Camden could attend school in Cherry Hill, as long as Cherry Hill agreed to accept the voucher.

Speaking of poor educational outcomes in some of the state's Abbott districts, he said, "In those districts, we need to increase competition to make sure we get a better educational product."

Though long-discussed, New Jersey does not have a school voucher system. It does have charter schools, which Christie said he would expand.

"You have to bring more charters and more competition to those Abbott districts," he said. "If you do that, you will bring costs down because charter schools are spending less and producing better results."

Christie's voucher plan differs from a plan by his Republican primary opponent Steve Lonegan, which would not allow students to attend schools outside their district.

"Steve has a fake voucher program - I have a real one," Christie said.

Lonegan said he wanted "to drive competition within a school district. One of the critical elements to economic growth is to reopen closed schools."

Allowing students to take their vouchers and attend school outside their towns and cities "would siphon students off to other cities and leave behind empty schools and empty neighborhoods," Lonegan said.

In the news conference, Christie also chided Gov. Corzine, a Democrat, for revenue projection shortfalls. The governor announced Thursday that the state's projected revenue between now and June 2010 would be as much as $2 billion less than expected.

Christie said revenue projections should have given more weight to rising unemployment levels, which, in turn, have lowered the state's income tax collections.