Marlboro may gain from new school funding plan
Impact of state law as it relates to special education still an issue
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

MARLBORO- During a special meeting with theMarlboro Board of Education, state Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth and Mercer) said there is a lot going on in education in New Jersey.

Representatives of the school board and the municipality met with local legislators last week to get an update on issues relating to school funding.

Joining Beck at the meeting were state Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon and state Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande (both R-Monmouth and Mercer), Mayor Jonathan Hornik, Township Council Vice President Steve Rosenthal, Councilman Frank LaRocca and Councilwoman Randi Marder.

School board President Terry Spilken assured the legislators at the start of the meeting that this would not be a night of badgering, but a way to share thoughts on a lot of important topics relating to schools.

A new funding formula for New Jersey's schools was approved by the state Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jon Corzine in January.

Beck said that over the next six months there will be amendments made to the funding formula. She described how the 115-page law was delivered to legislators at 5 p.m. on a Thursday and said they were asked to vote on it at 11 a.m. the following Monday.

"There were some mistakes in it," Beck said, adding that the funding law will be revisited in the coming months.

In order to identify any issues and generate possible solutions, Beck said she will be meeting with school administrators, board members and residents. She said she will bring those suggestions to Trenton.

Casagrande added, "We are going to be given a small window of opportunity, we have to get it right."

Under the new funding formula the Marlboro K-8 School District will see an increase of $2.1 million in state aid during the 2008-09 school year, making a possible total of $12.7 million in state aid support for the budget.

"The whole formula is built on a scenario of a 5,000-student K-12 school system," Superintendent of Schools David Abbott said, explaining that there needed to be a scenario to find what to build the principles of the budget on.

The formula is now based on an "adequacy budget formula," which is a key concept, according to Abbott. This term means the amount of money state officials believe school districts should be spending to educate children.

Under this formula Marlboro was found to be spending under the "adequacy" budget and carrying more than its fair share of local property taxes. This led to the district receiving the maximum increase in state aid (20 percent) that is being provided for 2008-09.

"Because we are spending under adequacy and taxing over fair share good things happened for us," Abbott said.

Marlboro taxpayers have been paying for flat funding from the state over the past seven years, as the district's enroll- ment grew by hundreds of students, Abbott said. He told the legislators every seat is filled and said he has one remaining classroom.

One key concern for Marlboro administrators is the funding of special education, a possible Achilles heel as Abbott referred to it.At the moment the township has 704 classified students in the school district.

Special education accounts for 25 percent of the district's budget, according to Business Administrator Cindy Barr- Rague. For the 2007-08 school year the district's budget amounts to a total of $78.5 million.

"While we are level in terms of regular funding, we are not (level) in terms of special education," Abbott said.

Under the new formula two-thirds of special education funding will be based on the wealth of the school district and onethird will be categorical aid. Categorical aid is what was previously used, where all districts received the same amount for the students.

In a previous interview Abbott discussed his concerns over this new way of funding. Previously students were classified in a tiered system based on the severity of their needs, but now the amount is based on the state's average cost, about $14,000, Abbott said. That number would be sufficient if the district was receiving students with minor disabilities, butMarlboro has been seeing an increase in the number of students who have significant needs, he said.

"It gives me great concern that I'm going to have to cancel regular programs and increase class sizes in order to fund special education because I cannot raise enough money in order to address either the space issue or the education issue," Abbott said, citing the two-thirds wealth based as part of the problem.

"I don't think the state is going to come forward and fully fund special education ever. I don't think in the fiscal situation we have right now we ever will see that, but if there's a more fair way to do this then I think we should push for it," Beck said of special education being one of the areas to look at in terms of amending the new school funding law.

Spilken asked those present to try and give a picture of the future, asking what happens in two or three years should the state decide not to fund the formula.

"We will be lynched basically in the township of Marlboro if we have to go out with a 20- to 25-cent (tax) increase," Spilken said.

Beck said she believes, since the school funding formula is to be a "hallmark of his legacy as a governor" that this would be the last thing Corzine would want to cut. She said she asked Corzine on two occasions if the funding formula for schools was dependent upon his asset monetization plan and was assured by Corzine on both occasions that it was not.

Abbott said he is now more confident that the formula will be funded.

"Just because you got 20 percent this year (2008-09) doesn't mean that's all. You may get another 20 percent or 15 percent next year based on the formula," Beck explained.