N.J. appeals court upholds Gov. Christie's order forcing school surplus spending | NJ.com

N.J. appeals court upholds Gov. Christie's order forcing school surplus spending

Published: Monday, June 14, 2010, 10:50 AM Updated: Monday, June 14, 2010, 10:53 AM

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Patti Sapone/The Star LedgerIn a file photo, Gov. Chris Christie signs executive orders during his first day of work in Trenton. Kim Guadagno, Lieutenant Governor, right, watches.

TRENTON -- An appeals court panel has upheld Gov. Chris Christie's executive order forcing school districts to use surplus money to make up for cuts in state aid.

In February, the Republican governor ordered the freeze of $475 million in school aid payments in 2010 by requiring districts to use their excess surplus instead of state aid. The cuts were made at the time to help plug a deficit in the current year budget.

The court found today that that Christie acted within his constitutional authority to make the cuts.

The Perth Amboy school district, which lost $15 million in state aid, filed the lawsuit.

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