Bateman & Oroho Education Funding Must Be Equitable

Senator Steve Oroho, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and Senator Christopher "Kip" Bateman a member of the Senate Education Committee issued the following joint statement regarding education funding in the fiscal Year 2009 budget:

"We take New Jersey's constitutional obligation to establish a thorough and efficient system of free public schools very seriously. Sadly, over the past two decades the Supreme Court and the Education Law Center have distorted the intent of the state constitution. They created a system that ties education funding to geography rather than the needs of our children.

"Governor Corzine's position on education aid is exactly right. Education aid must follow the child. It flouts common sense to penalize school children and property taxpayers because of where they live.

"This is why we are perplexed by the governor's decision to award the 31 Abbott districts substantially more aid next year. In the current fiscal year, one Abbott district spends more than $22, 000 per pupil and another more than $20, 000. Comparatively, many non-Abbott K-12 districts spend around $12, 000. We urge the governor and the legislative leadership to recognize this funding disparity and rework the education aid formula to make it more equitable to serve all students and property taxpayers in this state without regard to geography."