By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — If New Jersey is wealthiest state in the nation, why is its educational system in such a crisis?
That was one of the main questions educators and other experts tried to answer during the "Public Support for Public Education" statewide summit held Feb. 12 at East Brunswick High School, Middlesex County. The forum, which featured a nearly packed auditorium, included teachers, parents, PTA members, board of education members and politicians from around the state and was sponsored by the Garden State Coalition of Schools (GSCS).
East Brunswick Superintendent of Schools Jamie P. Savedoff, who also serves as president of the GSCS, said school districts have to continually scale back their budgets in New Jersey, and he is looking forward to taking on his new job as superintendent in Lower Merion, Pa., a state where public votes are not required for school budgets or construction projects.
But although he is leaving for that job within weeks, Savedoff is still concerned about the crisis in New Jersey. He called into question Gov. James McGreevey’s state budgets, which he said are paralyzing school districts.
"How can the governor continually say that education is his No. 1 priority?" he asked near the start of the three-hour meeting.
Savedoff said the purpose of the summit was to help create a groundswell to press for change in the way New Jersey funds and handles public education.
"Working together, we can make a difference," he said.
Ernest Reock, an expert in school funding from the Center for Government Ser-vices at the Bloustein School of Rutgers University, said there are a number of reasons why the state’s education system is flawed. As with most other speakers, he pointed to the overreliance on property taxes to fund schools, but he also said the sheer number of school districts in the state also adds to the problem. In addition, the state lacks the resources to adequately compensate for districts with different needs.
As for funding education through property taxes, Reock said New Jersey is among the top three states in terms of the percentage of personal income spent on property taxes.
Another part of the problem is that sales taxes and state income taxes are limited, he said.
Reock mentioned increasing state income and sales taxes as ideas being considered to help with the problem, though raising either of them would run counter to McGreevey’s pledge not to increase taxes. He said raising the state income tax would be a more feasible idea than paying for education with the sales tax.
Another idea is to impose other state taxes, such as a general tax on all property in the state, "but this scares some people crazy," he said.
He said there is an attempt to prohibit any constitutional convention from even considering that idea.
Reock mentioned other ideas, including recapturing money from other state programs and placing a surcharge on state income taxes but having that money remain in the municipality from which it came.
He also mentioned reclassifying properties based on their use, such as residential, industrial and commercial, and charging them in different proportions.
Some of his ideas, he said, would require a convention because amendments to the state Constitution would be necessary. The state can even use a mix of the ideas, he said.
"All we need is the political will to do it," Reock said.
Lynne Strickland, executive director for the GSCS, said that about one of every three school budgets failed last year, and even more may do so in the April 2003 elections. This is not only harming schools, but also splitting communities.
"There is a brush fire spreading for change," she said.
She told legislators to beware. A few years ago, they might have been run out of office for asking for school funding changes, but now "you could get unelected for not talking about it," she said.
Henry Coleman, executive director at the Center for Government Services at the Bloustein School of Rutgers University, said New Jersey is the richest state in the nation. In light of that, there is no reason its education system should even be average, much less below that.
He also said taxes are not evenly distributed in the state. The poorest 20 percent of the population pays 16 percent of its income for taxes, while the richest 1 percent pays only 9 percent of its income. Coleman said that about $15 billion is raised through property taxes each year, which is more than all other taxes combined.
State Assemblyman Peter Barnes (D-18) was among a handful of legislators who attended the summit. He said politicians are balking at change because they are afraid that raising income or sales taxes will cost them their office.
Barnes said he suggested years ago that the state tax hotels to raise more funds for schools. A newspaper disagreed, costing him that newspaper’s endorsement and possibly as many as 1,000 votes. He said the example shows the ramifications a politician can face for proposing any kind of a tax increase.
He said a constitutional convention would shift the burden of choice from politicians to voters, thus getting legislators off the hook for tax increases.
Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-14) said she is a prime sponsor of a bill to have the convention.
"I feel very strongly that’s the only way we’re going to off the dime in the Legis-lature," he said.
Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (D-20) said he opposes the idea. He said voters elected legislators to solve these problems. In response, one person yelled out, "Do it."