N.J. school-voucher plan clears Senate panel

TRENTON - A pilot program for school vouchers moved one step closer to reality Thursday, after a New Jersey Senate committee released the bill following hours of heated debate.

The legislation, which is supported by Gov. Christie, would create "opportunity scholarships" that would allow children from low-income families who live in areas with "chronically failing" public schools to attend private schools, including those with religious affiliations.

Supporters, including Christie, contend that children of all income levels should be allowed to opt out of failing public schools.

Critics argue that the scholarship program would hurt the failing public schools, by taking away students and funding.

The legislation, which is modeled on a similar program in Pennsylvania, has the support of an unusual coalition of Republicans and Democrats. In addition to Christie, supporters include Excellent Education for Everyone (E3), a school-choice advocacy group cofounded by Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and the Rev. Reginald Jackson, executive director of the influential Black Ministers' Council of New Jersey.

"The intent is to give children from low-income families who are forced to attend a chronically failing school simply because of their zip code the opportunity to receive a quality education," Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D., Union), a sponsor of the bill, told the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

He also said the program would save taxpayers money by helping to support private schools, because when private schools close, students often return to the public school system, increasing costs for taxpayers.

Similar legislation has been discussed for years in Trenton, but advocates hope that with a supporter in the governor's office, the bill will soon be signed into law.

The bill faces a tough road, though, with opponents that include the state's largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association; many Democratic lawmakers; and the New Jersey NAACP.

Sen. Barbara Buono (D., Middlesex), who voted against the bill, said it would hurt the public schools that are left behind.

"I believe it is not about choice, it is not about reform, it is about turning our backs to public education," Buono said.

But advocates said it did not make sense to continue to let children attend failing public schools.

"We should decide whether or not we think it's OK to let kids who are overwhelmingly African American and Hispanic continue to go to schools that we know with a high degree of certainty have failed them for decades," said Derrell Bradford, executive director of E3.

The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved the bill Thursday, 8-5, with all Republicans voting in favor, along with some Democrats.

The Opportunity Scholarship Act, as the legislation is known, would be funded through contributions from private companies, which would receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits in exchange for their contributions. The funding mechanism is designed to allow the state to avoid legal questions about the separation of church and state.

Under the criteria established in the legislation, low-income students at 166 schools in 13 school districts would be eligible for the program.

According to a fiscal analysis by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, the legislation would cost the state $842.5 million in lost general-fund revenues over the five years of the pilot. The schools in question would lose an estimated $1.186 billion in state aid, but could apply for grants totaling $343.9 million.

The bill heads next to the full Senate, and the Assembly, for approval.

Pennsylvania's tax-credit program, called the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, allows businesses to receive tax credits of up to 90 percent of their contributions to one of three types of organizations: a private school scholarship organization fund; a nonprofit "educational improvement organization" - typically a public school foundation or a nonprofit that offers educational programs to schools; or a prekindergarten scholarship organization fund.

The scholarship organizations can be for either a specific school or an umbrella group that gets the tax credit donations and doles it out to schools.