Jackson school aid hike will remain at 2%
Commissioner says increased wealth is limiting increase
BY DAVE BENJAMIN Staff Writer
School officials in Jackson have been informed by the commissioner of education that state aid over and above the 2 percent increase Jackson is slated to receive for the 2008-09 school year will not be forthcoming.

Representatives of the school district met recently with New Jersey Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy to lobby for a larger increase under the new school funding formula that was recently signed into law by Gov. Jon Corzine.

The Jackson School District's total budget for the current 2007- 08 school year is about $130.4 million, supported by $62.7 million in local property taxes and about $52 million in state aid.

The school tax rate is $2.275 per $100 of assessed valuation, which means that the owner of a home assessed at $150,000 is paying about $3,412 in school taxes in 2007-08; the owner of a home assessed at $300,000 is paying about $6,825 in school taxes in 2007-08; the owner of a home assessed at $400,000 is paying about $9,100 in school taxes in 2007-08; and the owner of a home assessed at $500,000 is paying about $11,375 in school taxes in 2007-08.

The Jackson Board of Education is presently developing a budget for the 2008-09 school year. School administrators have been informed that Jackson will receive the minimum 2 percent increase provided by the new state school funding law (about $1 million in extra aid). Some Garden State school districts will see their state aid package rise by as much as 20 percent in the coming school year.

Residents will be asked to approve the budget for the 2008- 09 school year in the April school election.

Jackson administrators said they pointed out to Davy that the Jackson School District, an area of more than 100 square miles and the third largest in the state, deals with higher costs for transportation, increased fuel prices, more bus drivers and bus maintenance than most other districts in New Jersey.

They said Jackson's school bus fleet travels more than 2.5 million miles a year and uses 357,000 gallons of fuel.

The administrators said they pointed out that Jackson has seen student enrollment increase over the past seven years while state aid remained flat for the most part. Some students continue to attend class in portable classrooms.

"Nothing happened," school board President Marvin Krakower reported. "Basically, the commissioner said we get too much aid from the state. That's why we only received a 2 percent increase (for 2008-09), which is the minimum that any district can get."

Krakower noted that five years ago state aid paid for 50 percent of the Jackson school budget. Now state aid pays for about 40 percent of the budget.

"It's a very bad formula," Krakower said of the new funding system. "The commissioner also said there are a lot of active adult communities [now] that have made Jackson a richer place to live. I'm very angry. I know that other school districts received 20 percent increases (in state aid) and did not have sizeable (enrollment) increases. Some of them actually had enrollment decreases. Why we didn't (get more), I just don't understand."

Superintendent of Schools Thomas Gialanella said Davy is aware that Jackson's enrollment increased by 19 percent over the past seven years and said that is one of the largest enrollment increases in the state.

He said Davy explained that the wealth of Jackson has risen so much proportionately that even though the school district's enrollment went up 19 percent, the district does not deserve anything more than the minimum increase in state aid.

The commissioner said "that's what the formula is and the formula is the same for everybody," Gialanella explained. "So according to the commissioner, and I'm not saying she is correct, everybody is being treated the same under the formula, which compares the community income and the student population. That's why Jackson got the minimal increase."

Gialanella said he cannot understand how the wealth of Jackson went up so much and how neighboring towns such as Freehold Township and Plumsted, which he said are similar communities to Jackson, are in line for larger increases in state aid in the coming school year.

"I understand that the formula is the formula and I understand that the wealth of our community did go up, but how about the wealth of those [other] communities and where did that interplay with the increases of their populations. How come they got 20 percent and we didn't?"

Gialanella made it clear that he is not saying the other communities don't deserve their increases in school state aid, but he asked how Jackson's wealth went up so much and everybody else's wealth did not.

"Howell didn't see a student population increase (in fact there was a decrease in enrollment,) but they got a 10 percent increase" in state aid for 2008-09, he said. "Howell is [also] very similar to Jackson. I don't know how our wealth went up so much more than theirs."

Gialanella said Davy indicated that Jackson will not receive more than the 2 percent increase in state aid that it has been promised for the 2008-09 school year.

"The commissioner did say that our administrative costs are low," the superintendent said. "The amount that we spend compared to everybody else is low, but she also said the amount that the Jackson community is taxed for schools is also low. Now that seems like an odd thing to say when you're talking about this community which I think is taxed pretty heavily."

Gialanella said he was not sure who and what the formula was comparing.

"The state's viewpoint is that even though we are spending below the average, the state is giving us enough money and if you want more you have to go to your community and not the state," he said. "That's the part we don't understand. I think this community pays a lot in taxes and our board members, who all live in Jackson, are aware that we pay a lot for taxes.

"The commissioner did say that the number of retirement communities in our (town) has increased our wealth and income," the superintendent said. "She said that's a major factor.

"We've fallen behind," Gialanella said. "The freeze (in state aid over the past few years) hurt us more than anybody else and as a new funding formula is being instituted we are being hurt again. This community is in a difficult situation and I don't think the commissioner has all the answers."