Christie defends school funding plan in Bordentown
BORDENTOWN - Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday touted his controversial education proposal to drastically change the distribution of state money to all school districts.
Speaking at a public forum at a Bordentown firehouse, Christie sparred with a Camden resident and others about his plan to reduce funding to struggling urban districts like Camden and give more to better performing suburban districts to reduce their property taxes.
READ EFFECT OF CHRISTIE PLAN ON TRI-COUNTY
Outside Hope Hose Humane Co. No. 1, dozens of teachers from around the state peacefully protested the governor’s plan with signs and bullhorn chants as they have at several prior forums the governor has held statewide on the school funding question.
Christie wants to give the state's 577 school districts the same amount of aid per pupil — $6,599 — as part of his proposed "fairness formula," saying it will reduce property taxes for the average taxpayer in Bordentown, Moorestown and many suburban districts.
He called the Camden and Asbury Park school districts “failures” despite their receiving far more state money and cited that failure as a reason for the state takeover of the Camden system.
Presently the 31 lowest income, special needs districts, including Camden, receive more money per pupil while wealthier suburban districts receive less because of an aid formula Christie calls "unfair" and a contributing factor to high property taxes.
Under his plan, Christie said, Bordentown would realize an average property tax reduction of about $1,200. Chesterfield would see a $2,500 reduction and Moorestown property owners would see more than $2,000 come off their bills.
Bordentown Mayor Joseph Malone, a former state legislator and educator, said this plan would mean $8 million more for the city school system and urged the audience to "listen to the governor."
The governor spent more than a few minutes comparing the Asbury Park and Bordentown districts.
While Asbury Park receives $28,900 per pupil and has a 66 percent graduation rate, Bordentown receives $5,400 per pupil and has a higher graduate rate of 88.5 percent but pays high property taxes for its schools.
“I’m tired of hearing the fiction that money will solve the problem. ... My plan would force change,” he told a crowd of 200. ”What angers me more than money is the wasted lives.”
“How do we fix this? I’ll tell you how we don’t fix it — by sending $5.2 billion, or 5.3 or 5.4 over the next year (to the 31 special needs districts).”
In a meeting with the Courier-Post editorial board Tuesday, Camden Schools Superintendent Paymon Rouhanifard declined to speculate on how Christie’s proposal would impact the financially-strapped district.
Facing what the Education Law Center estimates would be a $178 million-plus shortfall if the plan is implemented, Camden’s per-pupil spending will freefall from more than $23,000 per student to less than $7,000.
“The way I’m thinking about it is, in the three years I’ve been (in Camden), the governor has been nothing but supportive,” said Rouhanifard, who was appointed by Christie in 2013 in a state takeover of the district.
“I’m not taking this visceral, knee-jerk reaction to it all and just playing it day-by-day,” he said. What Christie is doing now, he said, is part of “a fairly broad discussion in town halls across the state that has more to do with just education in Camden.”
Still, he said the best interests of Camden’s 15,000 students would remain his focus.
“When something is set to be voted on, we’re going to be taking a more active stance,” Rouhanifard said, adding that “if push comes to shove, we’re going to advocate on behalf of our school district and the resources it needs.”
At the forum, consultant Sue Altman of Camden took Christie to task over the plan.
“Camden is the worst school district in the state ... and charter schools are doing a better job at less cost,” he told the 34-year-old Altman.
Altman moved from Hunterdon County to Camden because her husband is a Rutgers University-Camden professor.
"I would love charter schools to come in and save the day, but they don’t have the money or the same demographics of kids,” she replied.
Admitting the issues are complex, Christie retorted, ”We can sit here and debate charter schools, but we have been seeing no (public school) results in Camden. If it were just money, Camden and Newark would be the crown jewels in the state.”
The governor then thanked her for moving to Camden and predicted the recent commitment of millions in state economic development money to attract businesses will result in more people moving into the city and eventually will help the school system.
Asked by another resident if there is a plan to make up for the lost money to urban districts, Christie said his plan would be phased in during a three-year period.
He also said "work rules” in those districts would have to change because of loss of funding, referring to the potential for administrative staff reductions and elimination of preference to employees because of long tenures.
After the 75-minute session, Altman said she enjoyed the exchange with Christie but concluded he is “ignoring the impacts” of a “catastrophic” plan that pits urban schools against suburban districts.
“It has no provision to compensate urban districts for the loss of aid and lacks detail and imagination,” she said.
Democrats who control the Legislature and urban mayors oppose the governor's plan.
State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney, D-Gloucester, favors the present constitutional school aid formula and supports full funding of it within five years.
He also favors creation of a panel to review the problem and issue recommendations.
The present aid formula was created after a 1985 Supreme Court ruled poorer districts must receive a "thorough and efficient" education.
“I don’t think the governor’s plan is going to work and it would require a constitutional change and that’s not going happen,” said Chesterfield school board member Andrea Katz, speaking for herself and not for the board.
“He should get on board with Senator Sweeney’s more comprehensive approach to the complexities of the issue with his plan for a study commission.”
She said her district receives the least percentage of state aid in the state.
Teachers outside held signs declaring Christie's plan amounts to "apartheid" because of the mostly minority school population in cities.
Chants ranged from "All Kids Matter" to "What do we want? Fairness funding."
Demonstrating teacher Larry Zahn from the Thomas H. Dudley Family School in Camden criticized the plan because it funds charter schools while taking money from urban public schools, he said.
"This will result in a class struggle and create the haves and have-nots," he said.
Carol Comegno (856 486-2473; ccomegno@gannettnj.com
Reporter Phaedra Trethan contributed to this report