ACR237

A Concurrent Resolution expressing the intent of the Legislature that the “School Funding Reform Act of 2008,” P.L.2007, c.260, be fully funded in FY 2018.

Whereas, Beginning in 1970, the State of New Jersey was involved in a series of legal challenges to its system of funding public elementary and secondary education. These challenges were based in large part upon the assertion that New Jersey’s system of funding public schools did not meet the constitutional requirement to provide students with a “thorough and efficient education”; and

Whereas, In the ensuing decades, the State attempted to meet these legal challenges through the enactment of various school funding laws including the “Public School Education Act of 1975,” P.L.1975, c.212, the “Quality Education Act of 1990,” P.L.1990, c.52, and the “Comprehensive Educational Improvement and Financing Act of 1996,” P.L.1996, c.138; and

Whereas, Despite these efforts, the State failed to meet the directives of the New Jersey Supreme Court as outlined in the Abbott v. Burke line of decisions in regard to the State’s obligation to fulfill its constitutional school funding obligation; and

Whereas, In 2002, the Department of Education entered into a contract with a nationally recognized consulting firm with extensive expertise in education finance policy to implement the professional judgment panel methodology to determine the cost of providing educational services to all New Jersey students in a manner that is consistent with the core curriculum content standards; and

Whereas, After completing the professional judgment panel analysis, the department issued the “Report on the Cost of Education” in December 2006 to publicize the results, and subsequently entered into a contract with three nationally recognized experts to review the report’s findings. The department also conducted a series of public hearings to receive additional input on the report; and

Whereas, In December of 2007, the department released a report titled, “A Formula for Success: All Children, All Communities,” which provided the substantive recommendations for a new school funding law. The “School Funding Reform Act of 2008,” (SFRA) P.L.2007, c.260, enacted on January 13, 2008, incorporated most of the recommendations included in the department’s December report; and

Whereas, In May of 2009, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott XX found that in the SFRA the State had provided the court with what was lacking in past education funding formulas, a new formula designed to tie realistic expenses to the cost of delivering the core curriculum content standards to all pupils. The court held that the SFRA was constitutional and could be applied to the poorer urban districts. The court’s finding was premised on the expectation that the State would continue to provide school funding aid at the level required by SFRA’s formula, and that the mandated review of the formula’s weights and other operative parts would occur; and

Whereas, Despite the fact, that for the first time in almost 30 years, the New Jersey Supreme Court found that the State had designed a school aid formula that met its constitutional obligation to provide a thorough and efficient education, the SFRA was fully funded in only the 2008-2009 school year. For the past eight years, State school aid has been distributed through language in the annual appropriations act rather than through the court-approved formula; and

Whereas, In addition to the fact that State school aid has not been distributed in accordance with the SFRA, in a number of those school years, districts were subjected to reductions in their State aid; and

Whereas, In FY 2010, Governor Christie reduced State school aid by $476 million and required school districts to replace this aid amount with district surplus, funds that were needed by the districts to address future operational needs; and

Whereas, In FY 2011, Governor Christie again reduced the State aid of each school district in an amount equals to 5% of the district’s FY 2010 general fund budget; and

Whereas, After eight years of either flat or reduced State school aid, school districts are unable keep pace with growing student enrollment and rising costs, or to adequately meet the needs of their students including those with special requirements such as low-income students, English language learners, and special education students; and

Whereas, This lack of effort over these past eight years has meant that rather than fulfilling the promise of a “thorough and efficient” education, the State has actually moved further away from its constitutional obligation, and the abandonment of the court-approved SFRA for the distribution of school aid ignores almost 30 years of the State’s history and court directives in regard to the manner in which State school aid must be distributed in order to meet the mandate of the thorough and efficient clause of the New Jersey constitution; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):

1. The Legislature of the State of New Jersey hereby expresses its intent that the “School Funding Reform Act of 2008,” (SFRA) P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), the only State school aid law determined by the New Jersey Supreme Court to be constitutional, be fully funded in Fiscal Year 2018 in order to meet the State’s obligation to provide a thorough and efficient education.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the Governor and the State Board and Commissioner of Education.

STATEMENT

This concurrent resolution expresses the intent of the Legislature that the “School Funding Reform Act of 2008,” (SFRA) P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), be fully funded in FY 2018. The SFRA is the only State school aid formula determined to be constitutional by the New Jersey Supreme Court after almost 30 years of school funding litigation. In its May 28, 2009 decision, Abbott v. Burke, 199 N.J. 140 (Abbott XX), the court determined that through the SFRA the State had provided the court with what was lacking in prior school aid formulas, a formula designed to tie realistic expenses to the cost of delivering the core curriculum content standards. The court’s finding was premised on the expectation that the State would continue to provide school funding aid at the level required by SFRA’s formula, and that the mandated review of the formula’s weights and other operative parts would occur.

Despite the historic finding of the New Jersey Supreme Court, the SFRA was fully funded in only one school year, the 2008-2009 school year. Since that time, the level of State school aid has been set in the annual appropriations act. In two school years, FY 2010 and FY 2011, Governor Christie actually reduced State school aid. After eight years of either flat or reduced State school aid, school districts are unable to keep pace with growing student enrollment and increasing costs, and school districts are unable to adequately meet the needs of their students including those with special requirements such as low-income students, English language learners, and special education students. This lack of effort over these past eight years has meant that rather than fulfilling the promise of a “thorough and efficient education,” the State has actually moved further away from its constitutional obligation. In FY 2018, the State must fully fund the SFRA, the only school funding mechanism that the New Jersey Supreme Court has found to meet the requirements of the State constitution.