N.J. school funding scores high marks, but does not account for Christie's $820B budget cuts
Published: Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 7:24 PM Updated: Tuesday, October 12, 2010, 7:24 PM
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie glares at Marie Corfield, an art teacher from Robert Hunter Elementary School in Raritan Twp., as she speaks with the governor about school cuts at a town hall meeting in September.TRENTON — New Jersey distributes a greater share of its education funding to school districts with low-income students enrolled, an effort for which the state received high marks on a national analysis of school funding systems released today by the Education Law Center.
But the data evaluated for the center’s first annual funding formula report card do not reflect the $820 billion cut Gov. Chris Christie made to education spending this spring, raising questions of whether the cuts will erode the state’s funding fairness in the future.
"This is a report that should make New Jersey taxpayers, legislators, parents and citizens proud," said Education Law Center Executive Director David Sciarra. "We are one of a few states in the nation that provide sufficient funding for all of our students by allocating additional resources for students with the greatest