Committee Meeting of JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS "Superintendents from the 31 Abbott Districts have been invited to discuss the effect the current State Aid figures will have on their budgets, as well as the impact of past State Aid freezes" LOCATION: Committee Room 16 DATE: March 26, 2007 State House Annex 10:00 a.m. Trenton, New Jersey MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE PRESENT: Senator Ronald L. Rice, Co-Chair Assemblyman Craig A. Stanley, Co-Chair Senator Martha W. Bark Senator Thomas H. Kean Jr. Assemblyman Joseph Vas Assemblywoman Joan M. Voss Assemblyman Bill Baroni Assemblyman David W. Wolfe ALSO PRESENT: Melanie M. Schulz Brian Alpert Christopher Hughes Executive Director Senate Republican Assembly Republican Sharon Benesta Committee Aide Committee Aide Chief of Staff Meeting Recorded and Transcribed by The Office of Legislative Services, Public Information Office, Hearing Unit, State House Annex, PO 068, Trenton, New Jersey TABLE OF CONTENTS Page David A. Mooij Superintendent Neptune Township Public Schools 16 Frank J. Digesere Superintendent Bloomfield Public Schools 42 Ethel W. Davion Superintendent Irvington Public Schools 65 Michael E. Glascoe, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Paterson Public Schools 75 Rodney Lofton Superintendent of Schools Trenton Public Schools 80 John M. Rodecker Superintendent of Schools Perth Amboy Public Schools 101 Nathan Parker, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools Orange Board of Education 101 APPENDIX: Summary, plus attachments Submitted by Dr. Mary T. Stansky Superintendent of Schools Gloucester City School District 1x TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) APPENDIX (continued): Page Letter addressed to Senator Ronald L. Rice, Assemblyman Craig A. Stanley, and Joint Committee on the Public Schools submitted by Dr. Clarence C. Hoover III Superintendent of Schools East Orange School District 8x lmb: 1-69 rs: 70-127 SENATOR RONALD L. RICE (Co-Chair): Good morning. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS FROM AUDIENCE: Good morning. SENATOR RICE: We’re going to get started with the Joint Committee on the Public Schools meeting. I just want to thank all of the superintendents who responded this morning. I know that you are very busy, particularly with the April elections coming up, the school board budgets, and we know that it’s also important for you to come before us today. This particular session is to hear from you in terms of your hue and cry: your benefits, if there are any benefits; as relates to where we are going with the information you received with the funding for the school districts -- the Abbott districts, as well as some of the other districts that border our communities, such as Belleville, Bloomfield, and some of the other out districts surrounding other urban cities. With that, why don’t I just turn it over to the Co-Chair, Assemblyman Craig Stanley, to see if he has anything to say, and then we’ll start our meeting. If the other members have something to say, they can speak after the Co-Chair, and then we’ll get started calling up names and taking the record. ASSEMBLYMAN CRAIG A. STANLEY (Co-Chair): Thank you very much, Co-Chair Rice. I was very adamant, really, about making sure that we had this particular session. Mainly because we have to understand the Supreme Court requirements for the Abbott districts in particular; but also our constitutional requirements -- which really is just enforced by the Supreme 1 Court at this point for the Abbott districts -- but our constitutional requirements for all of the districts for the State of New Jersey. And one of the things that we were very concerned with last year -- Senator Rice and myself -- was the fact that many districts were forced to have a zero-budget increase, and actually -- practically every district in the state was forced to have a zero-budget increase last year. Now, if you’re getting 70 percent of your budget from State aid, because you don’t have the property and wealth to do more than that, it becomes a much more serious situation. A zero-increase budget becomes actually almost unimplementable; or it certainly makes a lot of your programs, a lot of the things that you need in your budget almost impossible to implement. And so there was supposed to be a process in place last year that would allow districts to come in and actually prove need. And I understand that that process was very difficult. It was almost counterproductive. And most districts just decided to really opt out and just not even try to fight the State with respect to trying to get additional aid, even if it was needed. And so two problems existed there: Number one, the fact that there was not a process in place that allowed districts to get the aid that they needed, because every time they came to the State and said, “This is why we need the dollars,” the State went back and said, “Well, we need more details.” And the other problem that arose because of that was that the districts didn’t get the dollars that they needed to continue much- needed programs. And that is the most significant problem that people dealt with last year, and that’s something that we would like to try to avoid this year. 2 We understand that there is a process in place this year where districts can go to the administration and, of course, request additional aid. However, we want to make sure -- and we’re trying to get engaged early in the process -- to make sure that if districts, in fact, need additional resources to implement effective programs or to keep effective programs going, that the process is such that it allows the districts to make their case and that the Commissioner would be willing to accommodate the districts. So this is a very, very important hearing here today. It’s a matter of getting information from superintendents. It’s a matter of making sure that, when we do get that information, we go back to the Commissioner and the Governor to ensure the districts have what they need in order to implement our constitutional responsibilities. I thank Co-Chair Rice for his assistance in putting this hearing together, and certainly staff. And with that having been said, Co-Chair Rice, I think it’s appropriate for us to begin the hearing, and certainly appeal to any of the members who might have an opening comment. SENATOR RICE: Why don’t we start over here -- anyone have any comments prior to? Assemblyman Wolfe. ASSEMBLYMAN WOLFE: Yes. I’d like to thank both of the Co-Chairmen for having this hearing, because some of my legislative colleagues have heard my story over and over again. But being a constant member of the Education Committee, and being on the Special Committee that formed this Summer to look at school taxes and how that could implement the total tax structure-- Meeting 18 times; writing two letters to the Committee members; and publicly stating twice, at public meetings, I 3 wanted to talk about Abbott districts, that never happened. And now it’s finally happening. Since August those hearings had gone on, and now we’re actually going to have that meeting. So I think this is very important. I think the other thing that is very important is that the goal of having a new funding formula has not been met, and I understand that the Commissioner and the Governor have made efforts to have a stop-gap formula. And I think what we’re talking about now is an anomaly, because it’s not really the new formula; it’s just basically trying to make up for lost time in terms of flat funding. But I have to say, I do not represent an Abbott district. But having been the Chairman of the Education Committee, I understand the need to look at the needs for the entire state. And when I look at the amount of money that goes into some of the Abbott districts, as compared to, for example, Toms River, which is the largest suburban school district in the state -- 18,000 students -- they’re spending less than half of what is being spent in Asbury Park. Other than Brick Township, they spend about $8,400 a year to educate their children. They have a lot of kids with special education, special needs. And I know that special education, English as a Second Language are some of the criteria that will be included in the new formula. So I think simply to come to us today and tell us we need more money, we’ve all heard that before. I think it’s something that we understand. And this is probably the most taxing issue that the Legislature has to face. We’re losing a lot of good members this year in the Legislature, both the Senate and the Assembly, Republicans and Democrats. And the majority of them are saying they’re leaving because they’re frustrated, 4 nothing is getting done. And I think we have an opportunity this year and the coming year to actually get something done, to correct this problem we’ve had for a number of years, so we can get it straight. So I welcome the testimony of the people who are in the front line today. And I really think it’s important that we listen to what they have to say, because their input was not necessarily heard by the Committee this Summer. So I thank you Chairmen, both of you. SENATOR RICE: Assemblyman. ASSEMBLYMAN BARONI: Thank you Chairman Rice and thank you Chairman Stanley for holding this hearing. I think it’s very important that we have these kinds of dialogue with superintendents that often-- As my colleague Dave Wolfe, I don’t represent an Abbott district, but I represent a district bordering an Abbott district.