By MELISSA DIPENTO
Yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the state would need to fund an additional $500 million in aid to the 31 Abbot districts, which receive additional funding to ensure an adequate education to children in urban schools.
Gov. Christie told a crowd of nearly 200 residents yesterday that he was not pleased with the court’s decision at the National Guard Armory at Grove St. and Park Blvd. during his 17th Town Hall meeting this year.
“We want to solve the problem on school funding?” Christie asked. “We do not raise taxes on the most overtaxed people in the United States of America.”
Christie told residents it’s time for a change in the way state aid is calculated.
“The Supreme Court is responsible to nobody, they just send out invoices,” Christie said. “Not to go to every school district, just the special 31 that got the lion’s share over the past 31 years…”
Christie cited examples of where he thinks the school funding needs to be examined more closely. In Newark, he said, the cost per pupil is $24,000 per year, with a graduation rate of 23 percent. In Asbury Park, the cost per pupil is $30,000 per year, he added, with 50 percent of students who cannot do math at the eighth-grade level.
“We’re not getting what we paid for. Look at Camden. Failure factory after failure factory,” Christie said. “You are paying for that. The Supreme Court just said why don’t you pay more.”
Christie said there are also 89 school districts in the state that don’t receive any aid.
“You have to spend $500 million on a failed system,” he said.
Christie took some time to talk about property taxes and said he understands the concerns of many residents.
Christie told the stories of senior citizens he’s talked with who say they can’t afford to live in New Jersey anymore. He spoke about young married couples he’s met, who grew up in the state and want to stay, but can’t afford to buy a house here. And the people in his own age group, who have been hit by unemployment and foreclosures, he said, no longer have a rainy day fund to lean back on.
“I hear you,” Christie said. “When I travel around the state, I hear you. You’re looking at the only person standing in between you and higher taxes.”
After 30 minutes on taxes, school funding, pensions and health insurance, Christie opened the floor to questions from the public.
Cherry Hill Board of Education student representative Jonathan Silverstone was at the meeting and asked Christie about school budgets and reduced state aid.
“We were confronted with a crisis. We didn’t have anywhere to get money,” Christie said. “It hurts. I had to balance a $2.2 billion problem left by my predecessors.”
John Tremble of Cherry Hill asked Christie why the Cherry Hill School District, he said, doesn’t get its fair share of state funding.
“We need to change the school funding formula. We need to change the Supreme Court. I’ve been arguing about this for 16 months,” Christie said.
Cherry Hill Township was not involved in the planning of the governor’s visit, as the meeting was held on state property, township spokesman Dan Keashen said. Mayor Bernie Platt, some members of council and township employees did attend the meeting.
Police escorted the governor into the building and members from the Cherry Hill Police Department were present at the meeting.
(Click the first photo to see a slideshow from yesterday’s Town Hall meeting.)
