League doubts bill’s power to fix problems
By: Stephanie Brown
MONROE As state lawmakers debate whether merging some of the state’s 616 school districts will bring New Jersey some tax relief, the League of Women Voters says regionalization may not be the quick fix that proponents may think.
Members of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey’s School Regionalization Task Force, which has been studying the issue since 2005, told the league’s Monroe chapter at a Sept. 25 meeting that soaring school taxes the lion’s share of property taxes defy easy solutions.
"It’s really hard to say definitively that it’s better this way or that way," said task force member Meg Berlin. "It’s not black and white."
League members throughout the state will review the results of the study in January and February. Based on member consensus, changes to the league’s formal position on the issue could be changed at the annual convention of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey in May.
The league’s current position, according to its Web site, is that the final decision on regionalizing school districts should lie with the citizens in the affected districts, but that the state should encourage regionalization of schools and services under certain circumstances.
"Such encouragement, however, should be in the form of technical assistance or financial aid by the state, rather than by state mandate," states the league’s Web site. "Independent voluntary sharing of services should also be encouraged as a means of improving efficiency and the quality of education."
At the meeting, Ms. Berlin and task force Chairwoman Barbara Belasco explained what New Jersey’s school systems look like, what regionalization looks like, and the financial and political issues that surround it.
Five types of combined districts exist in New Jersey, Ms. Belasco said.
According to the study, there are 16 all-purpose regional districts, in which school districts share kindergarten through 12th grade, and 52 limited-purpose regional districts, in which school districts share a few grade levels.
There are eight consolidated districts, in which the district’s Board of Education members are elected at large. Consolidation is unlike regionalization, in which representation from different towns is ensured on the board of education.
The most prevalent are sending/receiving districts, in which one district transports its students to another school district and pays tuition. According to the study, there are 216 sending/receiving districts.
Monroe and Jamesburg are sending/receiving districts. Jamesburg pays tuition for the students it sends to Monroe Township High School.
Some districts, called non-operating districts, do not have school buildings, but do have superintendent and business administrator.
Some ways to simplify and save money have been suggested. Those models include creating county school districts, converting limited-purpose regional districts to all purpose regional, mandating regionalization, eliminating non-operating districts and eliminating sending/receiving districts to make them just a part of the region.
However, Ms. Berlin and Ms. Belasco said there is no definitive data that proves money would be saved and many towns are resistant to change given the uncertainty of benefits.
"There are projections, but it’s hard to know how accurate they are," Ms. Berlin said. "You can guess, but it’s tough to really know."
The way regionalized school districts are funded presents a large issue, in that many of the towns that pay the most feel it is unfair, they said.
Regionalized school districts are funded three ways: equalized value, per pupil, or a combination, according to the study.
Equalized value is a method that attempts to make up for the lack of current assessment of property value, said Ms. Berlin. She said the town that has the most expensive houses, pays the most in school taxes. Per pupil is a method by which each town pays for each of its students; the town with the most students pays the most taxes.
Issues concerning fairness arise when the wealthier town sends fewer students and yet pays higher school taxes, Ms Belasco said. This is typical in shore towns, where property values are higher than those in towns that are inland. Most families don’t live in their shore houses year-round, and thus don’t send their children to the school district.
Issues also arise when the wealthy district sends few students to the school and pays low school taxes. Less wealthy towns often feel that it is unfair that a town with the most money should pay so little.
"People are saying it’s not fair," said Ms. Belasco. "I want to point out that education is a community function. It doesn’t matter if your household sends children to school or not."
Some regionalized districts have taken to a combination of both equalized value and per pupil funding in "an attempt to balance the problem of who pays more," said Ms. Berlin.
Political factors also play into regionalization problems.
Home rule, especially, may make towns resistant to regionalization. School board representation can cause problems, they said. If a sending-receiving district, like Monroe and Jamesburg, were to become regional, it could cause a change in the allocation of board seats, and thus a shift in power on the board. Currently, Jamesburg sends its students to Monroe Township High School, and pays per pupil. Jamesburg has one representative on Monroe’s Board of Education.
"Saving property tax and streamlining the way school districts are put together that’s the genesis," said Ms. Berlin. "The league thought that this would be the best way to see if that argument made sense."

