Under governor’s proposal, poorest districts could get less in next year’s state budget
By John Mooney
The Christie administration’s plans to adjust the state’s school-funding formula and reduce the extra aid for at-risk students hit another snag yesterday, as Senate and Assembly Democrats took steps to block the changes before the 2014 state budget is even introduced.
The Senate and Assembly budget committees both endorsed a resolution that effectively rejects a report filed by the administration under the School Funding Reform Act, which proposes changes to the complex formula used to divvy up almost $9 billion a year to schools.
The Education Adequacy Report filed by state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf last month proposed increasing the base amounts that all districts should be spending on pupils, but decreasing the extra amounts — or so-called funding weights — aimed specifically at low-income and limited-English students.
Senate Democrats yesterday afternoon echoed what their Assembly colleagues said in the morning, maintaining that reductions for at-risk students would only hurt programs aimed at closing achievement gaps between rich and poor kids.
A report by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services said the administration’s plan would be $162 million less than the amount if fully funded under SFRA — something that it has rarely been. Close to 100 districts would get more under the proposal, while 152 would see less, the OLS report said.
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