Credit: (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)Members of the Legislature questioned whether the state is providing students with the constitutionally mandated “thorough and efficient” education at hearings on the governor’s budget for fiscal year 2025.
Around 140 school districts are expected to see reductions in state aid under the proposed budget, which lawmakers said could lead to cutting staff members, extracurricular activities and other elements that support students. Lawmakers during a Tuesday hearing also pointed to districts they said are facing overcrowding and insufficient school facilities. Both factor into providing students with an adequate education and require a greater investment, they said.
“Right now I would say — and I’m not an attorney — that we are not meeting our obligation that was directed to us through the courts,” said Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), referring to the current quality of school buildings.
Acting Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said maintaining safe, high-quality school buildings is part of providing a thorough and efficient education in response to a question from Ruiz.
Chief Executive Officer of the Schools Development Authority Manuel Da Silva said there is no new money for school buildings in the proposed budget. There is a proposed $50 million allocation for “emergent projects” to alleviate conditions that would make school facilities potentially hazardous or harm the health of students and staff if they were not remedied. This represents a $25 million reduction from the current fiscal year.
Budget changes coming?
Gov. Phil Murphy also recommended $350 million from the New Jersey Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund be allocated to the Schools Development Authority in the upcoming fiscal year, the same allocation as in the current budget.
Lawmakers are reviewing the $56 billion budget Murphy proposed in February and are likely to make changes before the July 1 deadline for a new budget.
The SDA is charged with managing and funding new construction, modernization and renovation of school facilities in 31 school districts. In 1998, the state Supreme Court ruled in the Abbott v. Burke case that the state must fully fund renovation and construction projects in these districts because aging, lack of safety and overcrowding prevented the districts’ students from receiving a “thorough and efficient” education.
Newark, the state’s largest public school district, is one of the SDA districts where lawmakers are concerned the constitutionally required standard is not being met. Da Silva said at an Assembly budget hearing last week that some of Newark’s schools are overcrowded but acquiring land to build new schools is not an easy task.
‘Do you believe that extracurricular activities like sports, music, and clubs, are they part of a thorough and efficient education? — Sen. Michael Testa (R-Cumberland) asked acting Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer
Assemblywoman Eliana Pintor Marin (D-Essex), chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, said preschool students at Lafayette Street School in Newark must cross a busy street to eat lunch because there is no area for lunch in their building.
Ruiz, who represents Newark along with Pintor Marin, agreed this is a problem. She said the state should sell bonds to raise funds for school construction projects.
“When we think about government and our responsibility, not only through our Constitution but through the courts, it’s extraordinary that we don’t have the fortitude or the courage to take this on in a better way,” Ruiz said.
Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) said this is something he might be willing to work with Ruiz on, making it a bipartisan effort.
“I’m definitely open to that because there’s no question, we still have districts that have deficient facilities, really woefully deficient facilities,” he said.
Eliminating extracurricular activities
Lawmakers also expressed concerns that proposed reductions in funding to school districts could prevent schools from providing their students with a thorough and efficient education.
In Lacey Township, the district has already significantly reduced programs and cut 102 staff positions, according to Sen. Carmen Amato (R-Ocean). Field trips have been eliminated and athletics and afterschool activities have been reduced, he said. Dennis Township is considering cutting extracurricular activities next year, according to Sen. Michael Testa (R-Cumberland).
“Do you believe that extracurricular activities like sports, music, and clubs, are they part of a thorough and efficient education?” Testa asked the commissioner.
Dehmer responded that offering some sports is generally understood to be part of a thorough and efficient education.
Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-Hunterdon) said 65 positions will likely be cut in South Brunswick if action isn’t taken to restore funding, such as through one of the legislative measures currently being considered. Some of the current bills include provisions allowing districts facing cuts to apply for more funding or raise property taxes above the current 2% cap without taking it to voters.
