Wake Up: Are We Being Shortchanged by the State?
January 02, 2008 |
Dierdre's
Corner
At the end of Spike Lee's School Daze, one
of the main characters screams "Wake Up!" Some have
contended that the call is prophetic and an
admonition to contemporary Black America to awaken
from its political slumber and spiritual nihilism. It
serves as a plea for us to work past our apathy and
more fully participate in the American democratic
project.
Too many days, however, I awaken with the same words on my lips. But, my target audience is different. It is Englewood's citizenry. Since the full release of Governor Corzine's proposed school funding formula on December 12th, various groups (including parents of special education students and the State NAACP), school administrators (like Ringwood's School Superintendent Patrick Martin in the December 26th edition of The Record) and politicians like Bogota's Mayor Steve Lonegan (also featured in the Record's December 26th edition) have contributed to the public dialogue regarding plausible implications of the proposed bill for their respective constituencies.
Noticeably absent from this debate are Englewood public officials, school administrators, and community activists. I guess David Bowman's reinstatement and an ominous severance package for a yet unidentified, incoming City Manager take precedent over our 2,783 school children (as per the 2005-2006 National Center for Education Statistics); most of whom are Black and Latino. Like Lot's wife, Englewood seems stuck in place peering back at its past rather than strategizing for the future and Englewood's future is inextricably linked to its children and the education they receive in our public schools. Who is advocating on behalf of Englewood's children?
For those who might counter that Englewood hasn't taken this cause up because it will see an increase (even if it is so modest that it can barely be detected), I counter that there is great cause for alarm. Englewood, like Ringwood, is scheduled to receive a 2% increase in state school aid next year and it will not lose aid for the three years following, if the Governor's formula is made into law.
The new school funding formula has been praised for increasing total state aid to schools by approximately $533 million, or 7%, to $7.8 billion. If the bill is passed during the lame duck session of the legislature (ending on January 7th), a number of other school districts throughout the state will receive 10-20% increases. The debate is further complicated when one considers that Bergen County, with a single Abbott district, will emerge a winner with an overall projected 13% increase in state aid next year. As so many of us are aware of the Englewood school system's great need, why are we receiving so little? Further, after the three year period during which we're "held harmless," then what?
There is a method to the Governor's madness, however, in attempting to push the plan through during the lame duck session. First of all, many constituents view property tax relief as opposed to "helping somebody else's children" through the Abbott decision a no-brainer. The Abbott decision stems from a 1981 lawsuit filed on behalf of children in the state's poorest school districts and by the nonprofit Education Law Center.
The feature of the new school funding plan related to Abbott is the most controversial with its substitution for and replacement of New Jersey's court mandated "Abbott" initiative.
By aggressively pushing his school funding proposal, Corzine most likely sees himself as bypassing partisan bickering and advancing his 'ready, aim, shoot" management style.
While I understand the dilemma with which the Governor is faced, I don't agree with his approach of foisting his school funding formula on us without there being adequate time for parents, educators, teacher unions, school administrators and education scholars to weigh in. I would also like to see Englewood takes its rightful place at the table during the vetting process.
Most people have not read the 106-page document. I have and, even with specialized training in the fields of education and schooling, the plan (with its attendant formulas and lengthy explications) proves unduly complex and laborious to read. There is a need for both more careful scrutiny and consequential dialogue. If those needs go unmet, the school funding formula will go by way of the asset monetization plan. It will look like just another ploy in which the Governor advocates for transparency, but displays little of it.
Too many days, however, I awaken with the same words on my lips. But, my target audience is different. It is Englewood's citizenry. Since the full release of Governor Corzine's proposed school funding formula on December 12th, various groups (including parents of special education students and the State NAACP), school administrators (like Ringwood's School Superintendent Patrick Martin in the December 26th edition of The Record) and politicians like Bogota's Mayor Steve Lonegan (also featured in the Record's December 26th edition) have contributed to the public dialogue regarding plausible implications of the proposed bill for their respective constituencies.
Noticeably absent from this debate are Englewood public officials, school administrators, and community activists. I guess David Bowman's reinstatement and an ominous severance package for a yet unidentified, incoming City Manager take precedent over our 2,783 school children (as per the 2005-2006 National Center for Education Statistics); most of whom are Black and Latino. Like Lot's wife, Englewood seems stuck in place peering back at its past rather than strategizing for the future and Englewood's future is inextricably linked to its children and the education they receive in our public schools. Who is advocating on behalf of Englewood's children?
For those who might counter that Englewood hasn't taken this cause up because it will see an increase (even if it is so modest that it can barely be detected), I counter that there is great cause for alarm. Englewood, like Ringwood, is scheduled to receive a 2% increase in state school aid next year and it will not lose aid for the three years following, if the Governor's formula is made into law.
The new school funding formula has been praised for increasing total state aid to schools by approximately $533 million, or 7%, to $7.8 billion. If the bill is passed during the lame duck session of the legislature (ending on January 7th), a number of other school districts throughout the state will receive 10-20% increases. The debate is further complicated when one considers that Bergen County, with a single Abbott district, will emerge a winner with an overall projected 13% increase in state aid next year. As so many of us are aware of the Englewood school system's great need, why are we receiving so little? Further, after the three year period during which we're "held harmless," then what?
There is a method to the Governor's madness, however, in attempting to push the plan through during the lame duck session. First of all, many constituents view property tax relief as opposed to "helping somebody else's children" through the Abbott decision a no-brainer. The Abbott decision stems from a 1981 lawsuit filed on behalf of children in the state's poorest school districts and by the nonprofit Education Law Center.
The feature of the new school funding plan related to Abbott is the most controversial with its substitution for and replacement of New Jersey's court mandated "Abbott" initiative.
By aggressively pushing his school funding proposal, Corzine most likely sees himself as bypassing partisan bickering and advancing his 'ready, aim, shoot" management style.
While I understand the dilemma with which the Governor is faced, I don't agree with his approach of foisting his school funding formula on us without there being adequate time for parents, educators, teacher unions, school administrators and education scholars to weigh in. I would also like to see Englewood takes its rightful place at the table during the vetting process.
Most people have not read the 106-page document. I have and, even with specialized training in the fields of education and schooling, the plan (with its attendant formulas and lengthy explications) proves unduly complex and laborious to read. There is a need for both more careful scrutiny and consequential dialogue. If those needs go unmet, the school funding formula will go by way of the asset monetization plan. It will look like just another ploy in which the Governor advocates for transparency, but displays little of it.
