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Judge Peter Doyne must issue report by March 31
The state Supreme Court Thursday appointed a "special master" to gather additional information and issue a report on the effect of state funding reductions on school districts by March 31.
The court named state Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne to serve as the special master Doyne will determine whether Gov. Chris Christie's decision to cut nearly $1 billion in aid to public schools in the 2010-11 state budget violated the constitution's requirement for "thorough and efficient education for New Jersey school children."
The deadline for Doyne to present his "findings of fact and conclusions of law" is expected to hinder the Christie administration's ability to determine how much education funding should be provided in the shaping 2011-12 budget. Christie must propose the budget a week or so before the deadline and he will be attempting to overcome what is expected to be a $10 billion budget deficit.Because the court's most recent Abbott v. Burke decision was handed down with the expectation that the state would provide full education funding for three years, which Christie did not do, the legal burden falls to the state to show that the current level of funding is sufficient.
Michael Drewniak, Christie's press secretary, said, "We believe the funding levels in the current fiscal year budget — which were necessary to close an $11 billion deficit — were done in an equitable and legal manner and should be upheld."
He pointed out that the governor said in his State of the State address Tuesday, "We must end the myth that more money equals better achievement. It is a failed legal theory — and we can no longer waste our children's time or the public's money waiting for it to work."
"The governor pointed to the continued "achievement gap" between students in urban versus suburban districts, despite the massive infusions of funding and per-pupil cost in some districts," Drewniak said. "The governor's reform proposals are intended to close the achievement gap and address the failed education and funding policies of the past."
The order specifically states that "districts with high, medium, and low concentrations of disadvantaged pupils" are to be considered, and that the benchmark for determining whether a thorough and efficient education is being met for students is the Core Curriculum Content Standards.
"The Supreme Court has again reaffirmed that the state's responsibility to provide a thorough and efficient education is fundamental and extends to all students," Education Law Center Director David G. Sciarra said. "The court also is standing behind its 2009 ruling that the (school funding) formula, as enacted by the Legislature, would be fully funded. The state now must prove that the students' right to a thorough and efficient education can still be preserved after a $1 billion state aid cut."
— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
