PROPOSED LEGISLATION DIVERTS MUCH NEEDED STATE SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FUNDING TO CHARTER AND RENAISSANCE SCHOOLS
A bill in the New Jersey Legislature (A4496/S3247) proposing access to 100 percent State facilities construction funding for certain charter and renaissance schools not only undermines the State’s constitutional obligation to fund facilities projects in the SDA (former Abbott) districts, but also puts taxpayer dollars at risk. It should be soundly rejected by the Legislature.
In testimony given before the Assembly Education Committee in December and the Assembly Appropriations Committee in February, Education Law Center outlined numerous objections to the proposed legislation:
- The bill violates the State’s clear legal and constitutional obligation to fund all the costs of necessary facilities remediation and construction in SDA districts, ordered by the Court in the Abbott v. Burke litigation, by providing up to 100 percent State financing to charter and renaissance school facilities and allowing the diversion of up to 50 percent of school facilities funding in any given year to those projects. Dividing up a limited pot of money and restricting the amount eligible to fund SDA district projects will significantly increase the time it will take for SDA district students to obtain the relief that has been judicially ordered by the New Jersey Supreme Court.
- Despite the school facilities funding allocated in the FY22 and FY23 State Budgets – the first new money added to the program since 2008 – tremendous need remains in the SDA districts. In the litigation over construction funding currently pending before the New Jersey Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s office filed documents indicating that a minimum of $7.128 billion is needed just to complete the remaining priority projects identified in the SDA’s 2022 Strategic Plan. Notably, Governor Murphy’s proposed FY24 budget contains no additional construction funding beyond $80 million for capital and emergent projects statewide.
- Under the Charter School Program Act of 1995, and the Urban Hope Act of 2012, the Commissioner cannot approve or allow a charter or renaissance school to operate without demonstrating that it has adequate (or in the case of a renaissance school, newly constructed) facilities. Rather than risking taxpayer money, the Legislature should be deeply concerned with the Department of Education’s approval process if any of these schools are serving students in a facility that is unsafe or inadequate.
- Public tax dollars should not be used to construct or renovate property owned by private parties. Many charter schools lease facilities or operate in privately owned buildings, and any work done with taxpayer dollars will directly benefit the private owner by increasing the property value. Should a charter school close, change location, or if a landlord simply decides to terminate the lease, the public’s investment is at risk and could be entirely lost. And charter school closures – by choice or by order of the Department of Education – are not an unusual occurrence. The Department’s website lists at least 40 charter schools that are no longer in existence. Given that there are only 91 operating charters, the closure rate is extraordinarily high.
- The bill exempts charter school facilities built by private developers from public school facility regulations except those pertaining to the health or safety of students. This means tax dollars could be used to construct schools that do not provide the legally required instructional and administrative spaces
that are necessary to support students’ achievement of the State’s core curriculum content standards.
Despite repeated opposition voiced by advocacy groups and several legislators, A4496 was passed by the Assembly Education Committee in December and the Assembly Budget Committee in February.
“The fact that the Legislature is considering diverting millions of taxpayer dollars to fully fund projects that may benefit private owners is an outrage on its own, let alone when faced with the well-documented and outstanding facilities’ needs remaining in the SDA districts and the State’s clear obligation to fund those projects,” said Theresa Luhm, ELC Senior Attorney. “It is well past time for New Jersey to remedy proven violations that deny students the thorough and efficient education required by our State Constitution.”
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Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x 240
Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x240