The argument over fair funding continues; some look to N.J. for a better way
by Dale Mezzacappa on Oct 11 2013 Posted in Latest news
Across the river in New Jersey, the neediest school districts have more money per student to spend, not less, than their nearby and generally better-off neighbors that surround them.
What a concept.
This is directly opposite to the situation in Pennsylvania, where wealthy districts spend more, and the gap is growing.
And where Philadelphia, the state's largest city, is so starved for funds that its schools lack counselors, librarians, full-time nurses, and other basic services, as Gov. Corbett's administration is holding back $45 million in allocated state funds while awaiting reforms in the teachers' contract.
This week, a coalition of civil rights leaders, inclluding from the NAACP, the National Urban League and the National Conference on Civil Rights, sent a letterto Gov. Corbett calling Philadelphia's situation "an embarrassment to the entire nation." The coalition called on Pennsylvania to develop a rational funding formula for schools and for Corbett to immediately release the $45 million to Philadelphia.
Corbett's response, through a spokesman, was to argue that his administration actually has increased education spending (much of the money he refers to has gone to teacher pensions, not to fund programs in schools) and that the Genral Assembly specified that reforms were a prerequisite to releasing the $45 million.
People who support Corbett's position often point to Camden, which spends $20,000 or more per student and gets mostly dismal results, as a rationale for requiring reforms as a condition for more resources.
David Sciarra, executive director of the Education Law Center of New Jersey, was among those who appeared at a Wednesday forum on school funding co-