Schools

Education Commissioner Defends State's Cuts to Schools

Bret Schundler discusses surplus freezes, possible reductions in state aid allocations.

Bret Schundler, newly sworn in as New Jersey's Commissioner of Education, defended the cuts in school aid already enacted by the Christie administration and warned educators Monday that more are on the way.

Schundler, who spoke at the Garden State Coalition of Schools meeting at Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School Monday night, centered the topic of conversation on the current financial state of education in New Jersey. Many districts represented received notice recently they would not be getting the remainder of the state aid they were expecting. For the Scotch Plains-Fanwood school district, $167,667 was cut for the remainder of this school year, with another 10 to 15 percent in state aid likely to be withheld from the 2010-2011 budget year. 

"We all know we're in trouble here–in the state, in the country, in the local districts," said Lynne Strickland, executive director of the GSCS. "Being on the outside and angry doesn't get you very far."

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Schundler joined state legislators from the 21st District, including Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz (R-Summit), Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield) and Senator Tom Kean (R-Westfield), in a panel discussion about state aid cuts, budget caps, and salary negotiations, among other things.

Schundler said while he sees many exciting things going on in education in the state of New Jersey, it is also facing financial hardships. Among his first acts after taking office, Gov. Christie canceled $475 million in state aid to schools.

Find out what's happening in Scotch Plains-Fanwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Education is not just about money but money is very important," Schundler said. "I want to highlight that this year, this current fiscal year that we're in, and the $475 million that was reserved, I want you to know that wasn't something any of us in Trenton wanted to do. It's something that ultimately we felt we had to do. The state would have run out of money before the end of the fiscal year if we had not cut spending."

Michelle Clark, a parent from Chatham, expressed concern over Chatham having to cut $800,000 in staff last year and asked Schundler if under his administration districts would have more control over their local budgets.

Schundler said yes. "We're not going to try to overwhelm you with burdensome regulations," he said. "We do want to give you more flexibility at the local level to spend your dollars."

Mark Gleason, South Orange Maplewood's Board of Education president, asked what the intent is of the recently passed Senate bill that would require public workers to contribute at least 1.5 percent of their salaries towards medical benefits.

Senator Tom Kean said the intent is to keep the savings in the local communities.

Sheri Goldberg, a board of education member in Livingston, asked about state funding for school construction projects, especially in districts like Livingston where voters approved spending local tax dollars with the understanding that the state would provide 40 percent of the funds.

Schundler said it is still unclear what the aggregate aid available will be and how much will then be allocated to each aid program. So, districts that began projects expecting the state to match 40 percent may not see all of that funding come through.

But despite the tension around talks of budget cuts and public employees paying into their health benefits, there was positivity about the essence of bipartisanship taking place in Trenton.

"It's refreshing to have a governor who says what he means," said Munoz, whose five kids all went through the Summit Public Schools, "and we believe he's going to do what he says he's going to do. We're here for you even though it may not feel that way tonight."


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