Laura Fortgang
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Campaign Twitter
Campaign Instagram
Campaign YouTube
QUESTION 3: How will you get Trenton to fully implement the school funding formula?
OUR EXCELLENT SCHOOLS
The state of New Jersey offers to our residents, the number one public school system in the country. It’s one of our proudest strengths and our biggest draws for families to move here and stay here. Our success in education fuels our economy and sustains our quality of life. And there is no question that the state must give funding to all our school districts via a method that is fair, transparent, and driven by data. We refer to this method of determining where our education dollars go as “the school funding formula.”
FAIR, TRANSPARENT, DATA DRIVEN
Unfortunately the process has not been fair, transparent or data driven for many years. Under the Christie administration he and the legislature held back about $9 billion from our schools– unconscionable and short sighted in the extreme– but it’s not only years of underfunding that has lead us into the swamp, it’s also slight alterations to the formula itself which cumulatively year over year created a formula that even if fully funded, is out of whack with our original and worthy intentions. Here in Verona, more than 90% of the school budget had to be covered by property taxes where in West Milford the formula adjustments this year took over $400,000 away from their school budget in a day. None of this is “fair” or achieves our intentions for excellence and equality in our school system.
Every three years the DOE complies with its mandate to submit a report to the legislature, but year after year the legislature has ignored the data, tweaked the formula here and there to benefit certain districts, and kept the changes hidden from the public. As a result in our area, rural districts have not been appropriately funded and suburban districts are pitted against each other. Across the whole state superintendents and BOE’s face painful cuts to necessary programs as they brace for the unknown.
Data and daylight are a big part of the solution. If I’m elected to the Assembly, I will work to:
1. Make the current formula and methodology transparent so we know that what is happening is fair and fulfilling our agreed upon intentions. Where the formula is not fulfilling our goals, we will adjust.
2. Build in better protections, a floor and a ceiling, so that as demographics in a certain district change over time and calculated contributions adjust, we aren’t leaving these districts suddenly stripped of large chunks of their budgets. Districts will also be better prepared for budget changes if they know plainly that data and demographics will be driving their funding year after year.
3. When the DOE submits the reports on district demographics, needs and performances, we must make the information available to the public and let the data drive the funding rather than massaging or distorting numbers.
BUDGET PRIORITIES
Where the money comes from is the question we ask for every single one of our programs and initiatives across the state budget. We are always looking for revenue. That will mean adjusting our tax plans to be more fair and effective for everyone, eliminating expensive programs and incentives that are not meeting their intended goals no matter who runs them; consolidating costs where it makes sense, like vendors and support staff across our school districts, shared services for our suburban towns, and it means investing in the things that matter most to families and businesses who seek to come here resulting in an increased tax base and a thriving economy.
Voters should know how I intend to set priorities. When I’ve worked transforming teams at Fortune 500 companies and complex organizations like NASA and the Army Corps of Engineers, one of the first crucial questions we explore to reexamine priorities is, “What is your biggest strength? We need to invest in that.” For New Jersey, the answer is simple. We need to invest in our schools and our teachers. They are the bond of our communities, the pride of our state, a draw for families and companies to come and grow here, our path to a bright future. Supporting schools and teachers will always be my highest priority.
