Like many, Gloucester County school district longs for more funding

The Kingsway Regional School District in Gloucester County has jumped into the statewide debate over competing ideas to more equitably fund New Jersey's public schools.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) convened a forum Wednesday in Woolwich Township to push his plan to bring every school district to "adequacy" funding within five years by reallocating existing aid and adding up to $100 million a year.

"We're not looking to defund anybody; we're looking to treat every child equally," Sweeney said, adding that he wants to have the money follow the children while recognizing each child's specific needs.

"In a district like Kingsway . . . we recognized how unfairly they were being treated," he said.

Because of state Supreme Court rulings dating to the 1980s, New Jersey's current funding plan is weighted to give districts more money for impoverished students and English language learners. As a result, 23 percent of the state's students in mostly urban districts receive 59 percent of the state's funding, according to Gov. Christie's office.

Suburban Kingsway - which draws middle and high school students from Swedesboro, South Harrison, East Greenwich, Woolwich, and Logan - has struggled to manage class sizes and offer adequate programs as enrollment grows by about 5 percent annually, Superintendent James J. Lavender said.

"Kingsway's quest for fair funding has been a focus and a priority for more than a decade," he said. "We believe that state aid should be distributed fairly and equitably based on a formula that takes into account each town's property tax rates, its ability to pay, increases and decreases in enrollment, and the special needs of our children."

Lavender called Sweeney's plan a "strong step in the right direction." Others in attendance had reservations, especially about the pace of progress.

However, also Wednesday afternoon, mayors of three towns within the school district - East Greenwich, Woolwich, and South Harrison - released a joint statement that endorsed a different "fairness formula," one proposed last month by Christie.

The governor's plan would give school districts across the state a flat rate of $6,599 per pupil. It would ease dependence on local property taxes, Christie has said, and shift some money away from cities.

"We were truly excited that Gov. Christie exhibited the type of courage and forward-thinking necessary to change the system in a fundamental way," East Greenwich Mayor Dale Archer said in a statement. "Members of my township committee felt strongly enough that we passed a resolution of support of Gov. Christie's plan."

Sweeney said he was surprised the three mayors would support Christie's plan. "They represent a district that would get $4 million more under my plan," he said.

Sweeney's legislation would create a four-member commission that would have a year to devise a redistribution of state funding and then present its plan to the Legislature for a yes-or-no vote.

About 80 percent of the schools in New Jersey are underfunded, Sweeney said. His plan would reallocate the current $600 million in school funding over five years.

"Everyone thinks this is urban vs. suburban," Sweeney said, "and if you listen to the other plan that's out there, that's what it is - and that's not fair."

In attendance at the forum were school board members, principals, and parents.

Jen Cavallaro, a former Woolwich Township committeewoman and a mother of one student in the Swedesboro-Woolwich District and another at Kingsway, followed Christie from town meeting to town meeting four years ago, advocating for 781 days to get more funding for Kingsway and similar districts.

The bill she lobbied for that would send $4.1 million to "growth" districts around the state was signed into law in 2012.

"There's no question that our teachers, our administrators, our parents, our taxpayers, are all doing their fair share," she said at Sweeney's forum, which drew 16 participants. "There's no more important issue that we face down here."

Cavallaro said she appreciated the fairness behind Sweeney's plan but expressed concerns about the district's immediate needs and the time it would take to equalize funding.

Sweeney said he thought getting his bill signed was "very feasible."

He has previously discussed his plan in North Jersey school districts, including Paterson, Newark, and Union City, and said he would continue to travel the state. Christie likewise is promoting his plan in public meetings.

856-779-3912 eserpico@philly.com