Democrats to Christie on his school funding shake-up: No way | NJ.com

 Democrats to Christie on his school funding shake-up: No way | NJ.com
One might think that Abbott XXI settled the fight over parity in New Jersey' education expenditures.  That would be wrong.  Gov. Christie has proposed a new Constitutional amendment that would equalize education spending - eliminating all remedial measures. - gwc

by Susan Livio

TRENTON — The sweeping overhaul of the school funding formula Gov. Chris Christie announced on Tuesday requires the New Jersey Legislature to let voters adopt it by amending the state constitution in November 2017.

But judging from the immediate reaction from the Democrats who control the Statehouse, the governor should expect a bitter fight.

"This plan is unfair, it is unjust and it is blatantly unconstitutional," according to a statement by state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and state Sen. Theresa Ruiz (D-Essex), chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee.

The governor announced the "Fairness Formula," a plan that would provide every school district with $6,599 per student and scrap the court-ordered methodology that favors low-income urban school districts.

Christie said the proposal would give three-quarters of all districts an increase in state aid, translating into a huge dose of property tax relief. For a state with the highest property taxes in the nation, the idea is likely to gain interest, especially as he plans to campaign for it in towns across the state.