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GSCS Take: There is no breakdown available yet on the distribution of this aid and we advise districts to be patient before concluding whether funding will be available to them or not. But we are concerned that the federal rules confine the distribution to equalization aid only per the NJ state school funding formula, which is how the Corzine administration defined the formula to the federal government when dispersing the ARRA monies to schools in FY2009-2010. Those funds were used to "stabilize" the formula then. We are stating this issue up front so that our members and like districts may be made aware of the possibilities.The Administration has stated that it wants to find a way to maximize the reach of this aid to all districts and that, essentially, it isnt' "over 'til its over" . (But it seems to us that it looks pretty close. Stay tuned...)
njspotlight.com ‘New Jersey Files for EduJobs Money, but Will All Districts Be Treated Equally?’ Suburban organization says some guidelines could leave a third of New Jersey's districts out in the cold…”That has left others guessing. Lynne Strickland, head of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, the state’s predominant suburban schools group, said she fears it will shortchange her members. She said the 2009 stimulus money went to districts that receive so-called equalization aid from the state, meant to make up for those with high needs and less ability to pay, most of them low- or middle-income. “If that’s the case again, there are a third of districts who won’t get any money and another third who won’t get much,” Strickland said. “I think there was an expectation that they’d all get at least some portion of it. It could be a bad surprise…”
Star Ledger ‘Five points on the $268M federal education funds’ Distributing the "Education Jobs" money through the state funding formula could mean one third of New Jersey’s public school districts would not get money to cover basic costs, according to the Garden State Coalition of Schools.
Associated Press: The Daily Journal ‘N.J. barely meets deadline to apply for education grant’ “State Education spokesman Alan Guenther said New Jersey will follow its own school funding formula to distribute the money once the application is approved. That formula will favor urban over suburban districts. The only other choice was to distribute the money using a formula that calculates aid to disadvantaged students.Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor, has said Christie was hoping to use the funding to roll back some of the cuts in this year's budget.”
njspotlight.com ‘New Jersey Files for EduJobs Money, but Will All Districts Be Treated Equally?’ Suburban organization says some guidelines could leave a third of New Jersey's districts out in the cold
, September 10 in Education
New Jersey finally took its place in line for extra federal bailout money for schools, submitting its application before yesterday’s deadline for $268 million aimed at restoring lost jobs due to state budget cuts.
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But how that money will be distributed to New Jersey schools and even if all districts will benefit remains a question.
With no comment beyond a one-sentence announcement, the Christie administration said it had submitted the three-page application for the so-called EduJobs money, opting to use the state’s funding formula for distributing the money, one of two options available.
Restoring Lost Jobs
Expected to be approved, the filing of the application ended the latest stand-off between Gov. Chris Christie and the New jersey Education Association, the teachers union, which had pressed through advertising and other means for Christie to file sooner, saying potentially 3,900 lost jobs could be restored by now.
But whether those jobs will even be restored in the long run is up for debate, since the federal guidelines only say the money most go to classroom and other instructional personnel, not necessarily for posts that were laid off or vacated.
And advocates and others yesterday said there is no certainty at all whether every district will benefit, equally or not.
The Christie administration had sought federal permission to divide the money up evenly to districts, proportionate to their state cuts this year. In turn, every district would have seen the same proportion of their cuts restored.
But it appears the state ended up sticking to the two options available, and checked off the box to apply its own funding formula as used under previous federal stimulus money.
How that is defined is the question.
Final Approval
A spokesman for Christie only said that any decision on distribution will have to wait until the federal government has given its final approval, and neither his office nor the state Department of Education would release any preliminary tabulations.
That has left others guessing. Lynne Strickland, head of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, the state’s predominant suburban schools group, said she fears it will shortchange her members.
She said the 2009 stimulus money went to districts that receive so-called equalization aid from the state, meant to make up for those with high needs and less ability to pay, most of them low- or middle-income.
“If that’s the case again, there are a third of districts who won’t get any money and another third who won’t get much,” Strickland said. “I think there was an expectation that they’d all get at least some portion of it. It could be a bad surprise.”
Something for Everyone
A spokesman for the NJEA said that’s not certain. “It may be skewed a little toward the urban districts, but every district should get at least something,” said spokesman Steve Baker.
The NJEA implored the Christie administration to get the information out as fast as possible so that districts can at least start to plan for restoring positions, if not do the hiring itself.
David Sciarra, director of the Education Law Center, the Newark advocacy group representing urban school children in the Abbott v. Burke school equity case, said he believes the state’s formula gives the administration several options that could end up serving different districts needs.
He said the funding formula for so-called categorical aid for special education, for instance, could be applied just as easily as that for equalization aid.
“What they have to do is make some quick decisions and get the numbers out there, even if pending federal review,” Sciarra said. “But the state’s delay in moving forward on this, it’s simply inexcusable in terms of what kids need on the ground.”
Star Ledger ‘Five points on the $268M federal education funds’
Published: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 9:20 PM Updated: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 9:36 PM
TRENTON — New Jersey school districts will get $268 million in federal stimulus aid aimed at saving teachers’ jobs within two weeks, but how it’s still unclear how much each district will get.
Gov. Chris Christie applied late Wednesday evening for the "Education Jobs" money, part of a national stimulus designed to ease the pain of budget cuts, including $820 million slashed this year in New Jersey. The governor’s office today said it will not release a breakdown of funds until, at earliest, the three-page application is approved.
New Jersey was one of more than a dozen states to apply within the last few days. The deadline was today.
Like most governors, Christie chose to distribute the money using the state’s school funding formula, rather than a federal guide. New Jersey weighs a district’s poverty and other needs of students, such as special education, speech therapy and English language classes in figuring out state aid.
Though the money is enough to support an estimated 3,900 teachers’ jobs in New Jersey, districts have wide latitude in spending the money. Here’s a primer:
Q: Who decides how the $268 million is spent?
Christie has some control over how the money is distributed, but after that, districts will decide how their share is spent.
Q: When will the money come to the state?
Within two weeks, according to the U.S. Department of Education. School districts have to start spending the money at some point this year but must use it by Sept. 30, 2012.
Q: Does this mean schools will start re-hiring teachers?
It depends. Though it has been pushed as stimulus that will save teachers’ jobs, schools can spend money on salaries and benefits for nearly any employees outside the superintendent’s office — including principals, aides, librarians, secretaries, coaches, nurses, security guards, custodians, bus drivers and cafeteria workers. Also, schools can spend it on expenses such as bonuses, pension contributions and reimbursements for child care, transportation, student loan payments and tuition. Schools can even use the money to reinstate raises that were frozen. But schools will likely be under heavy political pressure — from the state and parents — to hire teachers.
Q: Teachers unions said Christie waited too long to apply. What’s that about?
The sooner states applied, the faster they got money — and some already have the cash in hand. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan asked states to apply as soon as the application became available Aug. 13, and encouraged districts to hire teachers in anticipation of the money. More than a dozen states, including New Jersey, waited until the last minute to apply. The Christie administration has said it wanted to find out whether it could, in part, roll back across-the-board cuts made in this year’s budget — which were not made according to state’s school funding formual. It was unclear yesterday whether that would happen.
Some superintendents say they are prepared to rehire teachers with the federal cash. Whil supporting the decision to apply for the aid, the New Jersey Education Association lamented the delay and said it will cause "chaos" to re-shuffle classes when schools have already started.
Q: Does the state’s funding formula affect urban and suburban districts differently?
A: Yes. The state funding formula calculates what it costs to educate a child and looks at whether a district’s property taxes can adequately cover that base cost — then adds funding for other needs. Some wealthy, suburban districts collect enough property taxes to entirely cover the base cost. Some urban districts receive very little property tax income and receive large amounts of basic state aid. Distributing the "Education Jobs" money through the state funding formula could mean one third of New Jersey’s public school districts would not get money to cover basic costs, according to the Garden State Coalition of Schools.
By Lisa Fleisher/Statehouse Bureau and Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger
Associated Press: The Daily Journal ‘N.J. barely meets deadline to apply for education grant’ “State Education spokesman Alan Guenther said New
Jersey will follow its own school funding formula to
distribute the money once the application is
approved. That formula will favor urban over
suburban districts. The only other choice was to
distribute the money using a formula that calculates
aid to disadvantaged students.Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor,
has said Christie was hoping to use the funding to
roll back some of the cuts in this year's budget.”
By ANGELA DELLI SANTI • Associated Press
Writer • September 10, 2010
TRENTON -- New Jersey narrowly beat the deadline
to apply for federal education funds and is all but
guaranteed to receive $268 million in grants that
could save 3,900 teachers' jobs -- all after millions
of public school students started the new year.
Gov. Chris Christie's administration beat the
Thursday deadline by a day to apply for the money
Congress appropriated to states last month, but not
before taking a beating from the state's largest
teachers union for not applying sooner. The jobs
grants became available on Aug. 13.
"We're glad the money is here, it should have been
here a long time ago," said Steve Wollmer, a
spokesman for the union, the New Jersey Education
Association. "The governor could have done this
three weeks ago and the schools could have opened
with a full complement of staff."
New Jersey was recently notified it had lost out on a
separate $400 million federal education grant, in
part because of a mistake on the 1,000-page
application. The jobs grant application was much s
impler, involving checking a box and a signature.
The federal money will help offset $820 million in
cuts to public education that Christie made to
balance the state budget. No school district lost
more than 5 percent of its total budget due to state
aid cuts. Some suburban districts, however, lost all
of their state aid. The NJEA said public schools
started the new year with 10,000 fewer teachers due
to layoffs and attrition.
State Education spokesman Alan Guenther said New
Jersey will follow its own school funding formula to
distribute the money once the application is
approved. That formula will favor urban over
suburban districts. The only other choice was to
distribute the money using a formula that calculates
aid to disadvantaged students.
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor,
has said Christie was hoping to use the funding to
roll back some of the cuts in this year's budget.
Guenther said the administration didn't apply for the
money until finding out its options for distributing
it.
The application was a formality. The money would
have come to New Jersey anyway, but the federal
Education department would have had control over
how to distribute it.
Guenther said federal approval could come in a
week or two. A list of recipients and the amount of
their grants will be made public at that time, he said.
Wollmer said rehiring laid off teachers after the
school year starts causes "unnecessary chaos" in
classrooms around the state, as classes are broken
up and students reshuffled.
"The governor owes students and their parents an
explanation as to why they waited so long to apply,"
he said.
New Jersey finished just out of the money, behind
Ohio, for $400 million that would have been used to
accomplish education reforms. The state lost 5
points on its application for providing budget data
for the wrong years, and finished 3 points behind
Ohio.
New Jersey lost as many as 15 points for not having
teacher support. The teachers union backed the
original grant application, but pulled back when
Christie disallowed compromises on merit pay and
tenure negotiated by the union and Christie's
Education chief.
The commissioner, Bret Schundler, was fired over
the failed grant application.
