OT - Christie's proposed school funding plan

[RUfinal4]

While I personally have not been a Christie fan his plan for K-12 school funding can potentially really help most of the suburban home owners. He wants to fund $6599 per student across the state. If the state funds some of the suburban towns schools better you will see property taxes not rise as fast or dare I say even come down.


The article doesn't have the table anymore where you can search for your school district but when I looked earlier it showed stats similar to these:
- Livingston was going to get an extra $5k per student
- Newark would get like $10k less per student

http://www.nj.com/education/2016/06...pact_your_district.html#incart_river_home_pop

from the prior article:
http://www.nj.com/education/2016/06/christie_nj_school_funding_announcement.html

Fair Lawn would see an 815 percent increase in state aid and an average drop of more than $2,200 per household in property taxes, Christie said. Teaneck would get 389 percent more in state aid and an average drop in property taxes of nearly $1,600, he said.

 

[mikebal9]

I've been about 95% against Christie. But I like this. So much of what he says makes sense. I personally know of districts that spend money like crazy for fear that if they don't, their state aid will be cut. That just shouldn't be. It doesn't hurt that it helps the district where I live and the district where I teach.

 

[iReC89]

I believe the table was wrong. Hopefully they update the math and re-post. Without a plan of how to get from point A to point B, it comes off as crazy talk. Even if urban districts could raise taxes to cover the difference, increases are capped. With the bulk of the budget locked in contractual salaries and operational costs, urban districts would be put in an impossible situation. The most laughable part is that he was unable to implement the funding shifts of the last update yet he thinks he will have more luck with a completely nuclear solution. Its hard to imagine this is anything but rabble rousing theater designed to steer November votes to Trump. It reminds me of one of those scenes in a movie where a thief open a bag of money and throws it into the crowd so that he can get away.

 

[LevaosLectures]

This amounts to the obliteration of African American and Latino majority districts to spare well off white communities a few bucks in property taxes. I personally would stand to benefit immensely and find it revolting.

 

[wheezer]

I've been about 95% against Christie. But I like this. So much of what he says makes sense. I personally know of districts that spend money like crazy for fear that if they don't, their state aid will be cut. That just shouldn't be. It doesn't hurt that it helps the district where I live and the district where I teach.

----
It is good to be open to an idea that you normally would not want to consider because of who it comes from.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

I have been talking about this for years and even posted about it here.

I can't believe he going to go for it, this would be voted in a landslide but Trenton will fight to the death to make sure it never sees a public ballot.

I am hoping beyond hope that this somehow makes it to a public ballot vote.

Not only will everyone see a tax decrease but all of your tax money will finally go to your town's actual schools!

ALL Children in NJ would finally get equal funding!

We tried a system where most of the money goes to give a bloated school administration while everyone else had to make do and go figure those students preformed worse than all of the underfunded schools in NJ. Even after Facebook gave $100,000,000 to Newark, it just gave admins raises and the students got nothing to show for it.

Money is NOT the problem, it will NEVER EVER solve the problem.

Public charter schools in Newark are some of the highest rated in the state, the biggest difference is the way they teach their kids.... go figure...

I am not a Christie fan at all, not even a little bit, but he will go down as a hero if he can get this passed.

 

[RUJohnny99]

Camden gets $30,000 per student. This includes FIVE high schools with a total enrollment of 2,645 students.

Camden Catholic is $8,200 per year.

The state would save $57 mm just by giving every kid a full tuition scholarship to Camden Catholic every year.

 

[RobertG]

This amounts to the obliteration of African American and Latino majority districts to spare well off white communities a few bucks in property taxes. I personally would stand to benefit immensely and find it revolting.

I don't believe that all schools should receive equal funding the poor districts have more problems and less resources.

But Christie did make one good point some districts are spending a lot of money per child while achieving horrible results. Asbury Park is a prime example spending $33,000 per child and a high school graduation rate of 49%. Throwing money at these schools is not working.

 

[RUJohnny99]

I don't believe that all schools should receive equal funding the poor districts have more problems and less resources.

But Christie did make one good point some districts are spending a lot of money per child while achieving horrible results. Asbury Park is a prime example spending $33,000 per child and a high school graduation rate of 49%. Throwing money at these schools is not working.

Asbury has 2,000 total students k-12. The district has 235 teachers making an average of $69,175.

The Asbury Park school district's mission is to provide jobs, not to educate students.

 

[R1776U]

DO THIS CHRIS!!!!

 

[LevaosLectures]

I don't believe that all schools should receive equal funding the poor districts have more problems and less resources.

But Christie did make one good point some districts are spending a lot of money per child while achieving horrible results. Asbury Park is a prime example spending $33,000 per child and a high school graduation rate of 49%. Throwing money at these schools is not working.

Blowing holes in their budgets will be awesome for these districts.

 

[R1776U]

Blowing holes in their budgets will be awesome for these districts.

http://www.app.com/story/news/educa...sbury-park-high-school-pepper-spray/84444042/

more like these kids are fkin stupid to begin with

http://asburyparksun.com/small-fire-at-high-school-quickly-extinguished/

 

[mdk01]

Unless there is an amendment to the New Jersey Constitution I believe it would be found unconstitutional.

 

[vkj91]

This amounts to the obliteration of African American and Latino majority districts to spare well off white communities a few bucks in property taxes. I personally would stand to benefit immensely and find it revolting.

throwing money at the problem hasn't worked. Why continue to do it? Maybe they should spend less money per kid and use that money to hire babysitters to sit and help the kids with their homework? It doesn't matter how much money you throw at these districts. Until someone at home takes some responsibility for their kids education it will continue to be wasted money.
Since I'm sure you disagree As an educator, I'll ask you for your opinion. How much do we need to spend per kid in these districts before we start seeing a ROI? What's the magic number to finally have acceptable graduation rates with students who are either college ready or prepared to survive in the job market?

 

[MGSA99]

Call me when property taxes actually DO decrease in the state and maybe I will think about actually moving back.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Unless there is an amendment to the New Jersey Constitution I believe it would be found unconstitutional.

The public vote would be to amend the New Jersey Constitution

 

[MCY]

I would really benefit, but it won't happen. That said, the formula needs to be fixed.

 

[RC1978]

BTW not sure if posted but CC said 98% of the increased aid would go to tax relief. So the local BOE's would not get a windfall of $$. It will not get past the Democrats with Sweeney in the South, Camden Etc and Prieto in the North wit a ton of Abbotts.

 

[iReC89]

Unless there is an amendment to the New Jersey Constitution I believe it would be found unconstitutional.

I think that is exactly what he is proposing, and he will likely accomplish it. The average taxpayer in my town will save close to $3k. I don't see the loophole yet that will let his charter schools stay open let alone the public schools.

 

[newell138]

It will never happen, because it makes too much sense. The amount of money being spent per student in Camden and AP is insane. They would be better off shutting down these schools and giving each of these kids a voucher and say, here is X amount of dollars you can use towards your education. Let them go to any school in any district they want. If a kid doesnt like school and wants to become a plumber or an electrician or a chef, then he can use his money for trade school. If the family doesn't value education, it doesnt matter how much you spend per kid, they aren't going to graduate or become a future tax payer. THey will just continue to suck off the system.

 

[Rutgers1]

This amounts to the obliteration of African American and Latino majority districts to spare well off white communities a few bucks in property taxes. I personally would stand to benefit immensely and find it revolting.

Bullsh*t race pandering. You could pour trillions into these school districts and it wouldn't make a difference. There is a fundamental problem that money can't solve. Christie is doing the right thing here.

 

[Rutgers1]

http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-298.html

(1980s) "Kansas City spent as much as $11,700 per pupil--more money per pupil, on a cost of living adjusted basis, than any other of the 280 largest districts in the country. The money bought higher teachers' salaries, 15 new schools, and such amenities as an Olympic-sized swimming pool with an underwater viewing room, television and animation studios, a robotics lab, a 25-acre wildlife sanctuary, a zoo, a model United Nations with simultaneous translation capability, and field trips to Mexico and Senegal. The student-teacher ratio was 12 or 13 to 1, the lowest of any major school district in the country.

The results were dismal. Test scores did not rise; the black-white gap did not diminish; and there was less, not greater, integration."

Sound familiar? The only people advocating for more money to be thrown at these under performing districts are the leeches that benefit from the do-nothing jobs there.

 

[mdk01]

I think that is exactly what he is proposing, and he will likely accomplish it. The average taxpayer in my town will save close to $3k. I don't see the loophole yet that will let his charter schools stay open let alone the public schools.

How are charter schools funded in NJ? In some states such as New York they receive less funding than regular public schools. This actually might be a positive for charters.

 

[mdk01]

Blowing holes in their budgets will be awesome for these districts.

Assuming this does not pass, what would you do about the horrendous jobs those districts do in educating their kids? If I, in a small way, am paying for the huge amount of aid these districts are sent, I think I (and the kids) are entitled to a better return on my investment.

 

[iReC89]

How are charter schools funded in NJ? In some states such as New York they receive less funding than regular public schools. This actually might be a positive for charters.

They are funded through local school districts, so its all the same local pot.

New Jersey’s charter school law requires sending districts to provide charter schools: “…an amount equal to the lower of either 90% of the program budget per pupil for the specific grade level in the district or 90% of the maximum T&E [thorough and efficient] amount.”
https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/49673/PDF/1/
​

I believe some of the same rules as SFRA apply, so the proportion of various aid categories received by the district varies depending on the charter school population served.

If a district is getting a fraction of the aid, and can't raise levies, they won't be able to reimburse charters at sustainable rates.

 

[motorb54]

Why do people keep voting for the incumbents who have no interest in anything but lining their own pockets?
And that is not only the Democrats. But they are more the problem because there are more of them.
How does any suburban district elect a Democrat who they know will not support this?

But another question: Will the state supreme court allow a reasonable and fair funding formula
and not make policy from the bench?

 

[NotInRHouse]

So the way to fix urban school districts is to give them less money?

This is typical race baiting he learned from his boss. This is not a solution, the whole plan is just to redirect money from mostly minority areas to mostly white areas with not even any kind of non-monetary solution to fixing urban schools.

He can pretend this will fix his 26% approval rating, all his corruption, the money he stole from taxpayers. It won't. Most see right through it.

 

[NotInRHouse]

Asbury has 2,000 total students k-12. The district has 235 teachers making an average of $69,175.

The Asbury Park school district's mission is to provide jobs, not to educate students.

So would you then say because they have high crime, the Newark and Camden PDs are there to provide jobs, not to keep their communities safe? Or this only applicable to teachers, but not other public workers?

 

[NotInRHouse]

The public vote would be to amend the New Jersey Constitution

The state constitution of NJ and every state but Mississippi requires the state provide a free education.

In the case of NJ it must be a "thorough and efficient" education.

The whole reasoning behind the Abbott case was that some students were not getting that.

Christie's plan is just to take money from poor districts and give it to rich ones. Does that help make education more "thorough and efficient"?

This is just another squandering of taxpayer dollars on quixotic lawsuit to attempt to act like he cares about NJ while spending time fetching coffee for someone who said "thousands and thousands" in our state cheered 9/11. It is a total bait and switch to leave the next admin with this problem.

 

[NotInRHouse]

I don't believe that all schools should receive equal funding the poor districts have more problems and less resources.

But Christie did make one good point some districts are spending a lot of money per child while achieving horrible results. Asbury Park is a prime example spending $33,000 per child and a high school graduation rate of 49%. Throwing money at these schools is not working.

Yet he provides no solution that problem. That would be easy. He is betting that suburban people who find him disgusting will like their lower taxes and write off the 49% graduation rate elsewhere. It's race and class baiting and we all know from whom he learned it best...

 

[iReC89]

In the case of NJ it must be a "thorough and efficient" education.

I would think the amendment would change that.

 

[vkj91]

So the way to fix urban school districts is to give them less money?

This is typical race baiting he learned from his boss. This is not a solution, the whole plan is just to redirect money from mostly minority areas to mostly white areas with not even any kind of non-monetary solution to fixing urban schools.

He can pretend this will fix his 26% approval rating, all his corruption, the money he stole from taxpayers. It won't. Most see right through it.

Everybody knows this isn't a solution. It's not meant to be a solution for Urban schools it's a proposed tax relief for everyone else. One can easily argue they don't agree with the idea or principals behind the process but if implemented it does what it's meant to do. I think people are saying throwing money at Urban schools isn't a solution either. So why keep doing it? Maybe if we lowered property taxes we would have more money to pay off those student loans you are so concerned about. How can someone who is so concerned about the cost of education not be concerned that it costs 33,000 a year per kid in Asbury Park?
What's your solution?

 

[mdk01]

Yet he provides no solution that problem. That would be easy. He is betting that suburban people who find him disgusting will like their lower taxes and write off the 49% graduation rate elsewhere. It's race and class baiting and we all know from whom he learned it best...

So what's your solution? Same question I asked Levaos. Some, admittedly a small amount, of my tax dollars are part of these huge aid packages and we're not seeing results.

 

[Rutgers1]

The state constitution of NJ and every state but Mississippi requires the state provide a free education.

In the case of NJ it must be a "thorough and efficient" education.

The whole reasoning behind the Abbott case was that some students were not getting that.

Christie's plan is just to take money from poor districts and give it to rich ones. Does that help make education more "thorough and efficient"?

This is just another squandering of taxpayer dollars on quixotic lawsuit to attempt to act like he cares about NJ while spending time fetching coffee for someone who said "thousands and thousands" in our state cheered 9/11. It is a total bait and switch to leave the next admin with this problem.

Jesus, every post you just made was brain-dead. You could spend $1 per kid and get the same graduation rate. Money doesn't mean sh*t in this equation. All "thorough and efficient" means is "waste and squander" money that could be put to better use in places where kids actually have a chance to succeed. If they were serious about kids in these Abbott districts being better off, they'd put most of them in vocational schools to learn a trade and put the ones that show academic promise in charter schools.

 

[RobertG]

Yet he provides no solution that problem. That would be easy. He is betting that suburban people who find him disgusting will like their lower taxes and write off the 49% graduation rate elsewhere. It's race and class baiting and we all know from whom he learned it best...

to be fair here is the text of his speech that is not reported

Do not let anyone tell you that failure is inevitable for children in those 31 districts or that money is the answer. The Academy Charter High School in Asbury Park had an 89% graduation rate compared to 66% in Asbury Park; Academy spends $17,000 per pupil while the traditional public schools spend $33,000 per pupil. The LEAP Academy Charter School has a 98% graduation rate in Camden, while the district has a 63% rate; LEAP spends 16,000 per pupil while the school district spends $25,000 per pupil. In Newark, the North Star Academy Charter has an 87% graduation compared to the citywide rate of 69%; North Star spends $13,000 per pupil compared to $22,000 per pupil district wide.

Over and over again we see the same issue: money spent without results for the families we are meant to serve. It is a false claim and always has been. It is failing families and their children. It is bankrupting our state. It is driving families from their homes and New Jersey.
The failure of the educational system in those 31 districts is the first tragedy. The second tragedy is this system has caused us to have the highest property taxes in the nation.

New Jerseyans regularly say that the issue that is their number one concern is property taxes. The highest in the nation and a burden on families in every corner of New Jersey. What drives these taxes? 52% of property taxes statewide are spent on the school tax and in many districts it is as high as two-thirds. But here is the unintended consequence of the unfair school funding formula: in those 31 SDA districts, they spend a fraction of their property taxes on schools as compared to the rest of the state. That’s right—the statewide average percentage of property taxes spent on schools is 52%; in the 31 SDA districts it is half that—only 26%. Are they taxing less? Oh no, they are just growing the size of their municipal government. The statewide average percentage spent on municipal government is 30%; in the 31 SDA districts it is nearly double—a whopping 54%! When you look at some of the individual districts, it is appalling. Asbury Park spends 60% less of their property tax dollars on schools than the state average, while their city spends 64% more than the state average on their municipal government. Trenton spends 18% less of their property taxes than the state average on schools but spends an enormous 387% more than the state average on their municipal government. In Paterson, 49% less on schools; 251% more on their city government. East Orange, 39% less on schools; 379% more on city government. It is outrageous. It is unacceptable. But it is perfectly predictable.

If you require the state to pay the overwhelming percentage of the school costs in these 31 districts, they are left with the choice: do we tax less or just spend more on the growth of government? The answer is resounding in most of the 31 SDA districts—the people of the rest of the state pay over 80% of the costs of our schools and we will spend our money to build oversized municipal governments—with no relief for local or state taxpayers. The abuses abound. Take Trenton for example. The Presidents of both the PBA and AFSCME locals receive full municipal pay to work only for the unions. No time working for the people; only for the unions. No wonder it costs so much.

How do we fix these problems? First, we must fix the tax problem because that is the one that affects each and every New Jerseyan and threatens the future of the affordability of our state. I propose we do this by changing the school funding formula. I propose the Fairness Formula; equal funding for every child in New Jersey.

If we were to take the amount of aid we send directly to the school districts today (in excess of $9.1 billion) and send it equally to every K-12 student in New Jersey, each student would receive $6,599 from the State of New Jersey and its taxpayers. Every child has potential. Every child has goals. Every child has dreams. No child’s dreams are less worthy than any others. No child deserves less funding from the state’s taxpayers. That goal must be reached, especially after watching the last 30 years of failed governmental engineering which has failed families in the 31 SDA districts and taxpayers all across New Jersey.

What would the effect of this change be for school aid in New Jersey? 75% of all New Jersey would get more state aid under the Fairness Formula. That is how fundamentally unfair the current formula is to students and taxpayers. And it is unfair in every part of this state.

In Margate, they would receive 428% more in aid. In Fairlawn, 815% more in aid. In that town, when combined with our 2% property tax cap, this new aid would result in average drop in their school property tax of over 2,200 per household. In Teaneck, 389% more in aid and an average drop in property taxes of nearly $1,600. In Wood-Ridge, an 801% increase in aid and a drop in property taxes of over $1,800. How about South Jersey? In Cherry Hill, an increase in aid of 411% and a drop in property taxes of over $1,700. In Haddonfield, an increase in aid of 1705% and a drop in property taxes of nearly $3,600.

The pattern is repeated everywhere. South Orange aid up 912%, taxes down over $3,700. In Readington Township, aid up 410%, taxes down nearly $2,000. In Robbinsville, aid up 666%, taxes down over $2,600. In Freehold Township, aid up 153%, taxes down over $1,500. In Chatham Township, aid up 1271%, taxes down $3,800. In Wayne, aid up 1181%, taxes down over $2,100. All over the state, we slay the dragon of property taxes by implementing the Fairness Formula. For the first time in anyone’s memory, property taxes plummeting not rising. And all through valuing each child and their hopes, dreams and potential the same.

Of course, we will make sure that we have the aid for special needs students so that they may reach their potential too. They are the exception though; the overwhelming majority of students deserve the Fairness Formula and we intend to pursue it for them.

We want to see major changes to the failed model of education in so many of these 31 SDA districts. We now see definitively that money has not made the difference over these 30 years but reforms have made the difference. We will continue to advocate for those reforms and we will insist that this new funding formula reward our successful charter schools with funding that comports with their success.

So Christie is pointing to increasing charter schools and getting municipal urban governments to use tax revenue for schools.

 

[jmc11201]

throwing money at the problem hasn't worked. Why continue to do it? Maybe they should spend less money per kid and use that money to hire babysitters to sit and help the kids with their homework? It doesn't matter how much money you throw at these districts. Until someone at home takes some responsibility for their kids education it will continue to be wasted money.
Since I'm sure you disagree As an educator, I'll ask you for your opinion. How much do we need to spend per kid in these districts before we start seeing a ROI? What's the magic number to finally have acceptable graduation rates with students who are either college ready or prepared to survive in the job market?

Just finished a book called 'Curious' by Ian Leslie (Amazon product ASIN 0465079962) where he explores the idea of curiosity and various elements of learning (including children).

The biggest takeaway I got from the book was that curiosity and a desire to learn can whither away pretty quickly if it isn't nurtured. He argues against the idea that giving kids freedom to explore their own curiosities is sufficient to engender learning, arguing that children that don't have knowledge/facts/context lose interest in things, and therefore fall short academically and in life. He argues that the child who is engaged throughout childhood and is consistently taught stuff is at a major advantage in life as the strong foundation of knowledge breeds curiosity which breeds new knowledge, and so on. He argues that this foundation starts in the home at an early age, and that in general, middle-class households do this the best. He argues that the education gap really springs from this more than anything.

So the question isn't around school funding, but about making sure that parents engage their children and that continues when the kid goes to school and when they get home from school. I think we all know the issues...and it isn't simply race...plenty of African American parents are engaged and do a wonderful job, and many white parents do a poor job...but it is about parents that have the time, resources, education, and interest in giving their children the foundation of knowledge that is necessary to do well.

 

[gef21]

The district I work in will lose 78 million dollars...that will not help the kids where I work.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

The state constitution of NJ and every state but Mississippi requires the state provide a free education.

In the case of NJ it must be a "thorough and efficient" education.

The whole reasoning behind the Abbott case was that some students were not getting that.

Christie's plan is just to take money from poor districts and give it to rich ones. Does that help make education more "thorough and efficient"?

This is just another squandering of taxpayer dollars on quixotic lawsuit to attempt to act like he cares about NJ while spending time fetching coffee for someone who said "thousands and thousands" in our state cheered 9/11. It is a total bait and switch to leave the next admin with this problem.

Currently those students are getting a far worse education. Facebook gave Newark $100 million and they pissed it away. No student in Newark got better educated or better grades because of it.

Please explain how forcing them to cut down on the tons of 6 figure jobs are going give the students a worse education. Please explain how making sure each student in ALL of NJ get the same funding will be bad for most students in the state.

 

[mikebal9]

And the district where I work which is not at all a rich district will receive about 31 mil more. And that will help.

 

[motorb54]

to be fair here is the text of his speech that is not reported

Do not let anyone tell you that failure is inevitable for children in those 31 districts or that money is the answer. The Academy Charter High School in Asbury Park had an 89% graduation rate compared to 66% in Asbury Park; Academy spends $17,000 per pupil while the traditional public schools spend $33,000 per pupil. The LEAP Academy Charter School has a 98% graduation rate in Camden, while the district has a 63% rate; LEAP spends 16,000 per pupil while the school district spends $25,000 per pupil. In Newark, the North Star Academy Charter has an 87% graduation compared to the citywide rate of 69%; North Star spends $13,000 per pupil compared to $22,000 per pupil district wide.

Over and over again we see the same issue: money spent without results for the families we are meant to serve. It is a false claim and always has been. It is failing families and their children. It is bankrupting our state. It is driving families from their homes and New Jersey.
The failure of the educational system in those 31 districts is the first tragedy. The second tragedy is this system has caused us to have the highest property taxes in the nation.

New Jerseyans regularly say that the issue that is their number one concern is property taxes. The highest in the nation and a burden on families in every corner of New Jersey. What drives these taxes? 52% of property taxes statewide are spent on the school tax and in many districts it is as high as two-thirds. But here is the unintended consequence of the unfair school funding formula: in those 31 SDA districts, they spend a fraction of their property taxes on schools as compared to the rest of the state. That’s right—the statewide average percentage of property taxes spent on schools is 52%; in the 31 SDA districts it is half that—only 26%. Are they taxing less? Oh no, they are just growing the size of their municipal government. The statewide average percentage spent on municipal government is 30%; in the 31 SDA districts it is nearly double—a whopping 54%! When you look at some of the individual districts, it is appalling. Asbury Park spends 60% less of their property tax dollars on schools than the state average, while their city spends 64% more than the state average on their municipal government. Trenton spends 18% less of their property taxes than the state average on schools but spends an enormous 387% more than the state average on their municipal government. In Paterson, 49% less on schools; 251% more on their city government. East Orange, 39% less on schools; 379% more on city government. It is outrageous. It is unacceptable. But it is perfectly predictable.

If you require the state to pay the overwhelming percentage of the school costs in these 31 districts, they are left with the choice: do we tax less or just spend more on the growth of government? The answer is resounding in most of the 31 SDA districts—the people of the rest of the state pay over 80% of the costs of our schools and we will spend our money to build oversized municipal governments—with no relief for local or state taxpayers. The abuses abound. Take Trenton for example. The Presidents of both the PBA and AFSCME locals receive full municipal pay to work only for the unions. No time working for the people; only for the unions. No wonder it costs so much.

How do we fix these problems? First, we must fix the tax problem because that is the one that affects each and every New Jerseyan and threatens the future of the affordability of our state. I propose we do this by changing the school funding formula. I propose the Fairness Formula; equal funding for every child in New Jersey.

If we were to take the amount of aid we send directly to the school districts today (in excess of $9.1 billion) and send it equally to every K-12 student in New Jersey, each student would receive $6,599 from the State of New Jersey and its taxpayers. Every child has potential. Every child has goals. Every child has dreams. No child’s dreams are less worthy than any others. No child deserves less funding from the state’s taxpayers. That goal must be reached, especially after watching the last 30 years of failed governmental engineering which has failed families in the 31 SDA districts and taxpayers all across New Jersey.

What would the effect of this change be for school aid in New Jersey? 75% of all New Jersey would get more state aid under the Fairness Formula. That is how fundamentally unfair the current formula is to students and taxpayers. And it is unfair in every part of this state.

In Margate, they would receive 428% more in aid. In Fairlawn, 815% more in aid. In that town, when combined with our 2% property tax cap, this new aid would result in average drop in their school property tax of over 2,200 per household. In Teaneck, 389% more in aid and an average drop in property taxes of nearly $1,600. In Wood-Ridge, an 801% increase in aid and a drop in property taxes of over $1,800. How about South Jersey? In Cherry Hill, an increase in aid of 411% and a drop in property taxes of over $1,700. In Haddonfield, an increase in aid of 1705% and a drop in property taxes of nearly $3,600.

The pattern is repeated everywhere. South Orange aid up 912%, taxes down over $3,700. In Readington Township, aid up 410%, taxes down nearly $2,000. In Robbinsville, aid up 666%, taxes down over $2,600. In Freehold Township, aid up 153%, taxes down over $1,500. In Chatham Township, aid up 1271%, taxes down $3,800. In Wayne, aid up 1181%, taxes down over $2,100. All over the state, we slay the dragon of property taxes by implementing the Fairness Formula. For the first time in anyone’s memory, property taxes plummeting not rising. And all through valuing each child and their hopes, dreams and potential the same.

Of course, we will make sure that we have the aid for special needs students so that they may reach their potential too. They are the exception though; the overwhelming majority of students deserve the Fairness Formula and we intend to pursue it for them.

We want to see major changes to the failed model of education in so many of these 31 SDA districts. We now see definitively that money has not made the difference over these 30 years but reforms have made the difference. We will continue to advocate for those reforms and we will insist that this new funding formula reward our successful charter schools with funding that comports with their success.

So Christie is pointing to increasing charter schools and getting municipal urban governments to use tax revenue for schools.

Don't bother with facts. Not in our house will not believe them anyway. And everything is Christies fault!
"...all through valuing each child and their hopes, dreams and potential the same." That must be racist!
The state supreme court will probably have none of this even if it could somehow be passed by the state legislature.
But the Republican candidates sure could use this in their campaigns. Maybe a few incumbents can get knocked off.
Then in the counties controlled by the Republicans (like my county of Ocean) maybe we can learn and dump our thieves...
eerrr...I mean representatives.