Testimony before the New Jersey Department of Education
and the State Board of Education
St. Peter's College, Jersey City
June 7, 1994
Commissioner Klagholz and Members of the New Jersey State Board of
Education:
Thank you for giving the people of Jersey City the opportunity to comment on the
progress of the state takeover of our public schools. As you listen to tonight's testimony, I
think you will find that the majority of residents, parents, and taxpayers of Jersey City support
a rapid return to local control of our schools.
Why is the takeover so unpopular in Jersey City? Because, quite frankly, the takeover
has been a failure. It has failed to improve the quality of education that our children receive,
and it is burdening our residents with runaway spending and higher taxes.
First, let's examine the academic progress of our students since the takeover.
Regardless of how you measure academic performance, Jersey City ranks near the bottom.
Graduation rates have not significantly increased, and we continue to have fewer than half
of our ninth graders graduating from high school. High School Proficiency Test scores have
barely budged. And given the preliminary results of the Early Warning Test for 8th graders,
we do not see any reason to expect significant improvement.
Have there been any significant changes during the four years of state control?
Yes, spending is up 48%, or approximately $87 million per year. This dramatic increase in
spending has caused the school portion of our local tax rate to increase by 47%, despite the
fact that the State has given us an extra $72 million per year to operate our schools. One
would think, after this substantial increase in state spending, that our financial situation would
now at least be sound. But in fact, our fiscal situation looks terrible! Let's take a look at the
district's FY '94-'95 budget. Not only are local tax rates being increased by millions of dollars,
but an estimated 200 employees are being subjected to layoffs. And if the unions do not agree
to a one year deferment of their pay increases, local school taxes may be raised even higher.
Simply stated, we are facing a social and fiscal disaster. The State can no longer afford
to lavishly increase its aid and the state controlled district shows no signs of reigning in its
costs or dramatically improving the quality of the education provided in the district. Local
taxpayers, who already pay some of the highest property taxes in New Jersey, are absolutely
frustrated because there is absolutely no evidence that spending more money on the same
flawed system will produce better academic results. Yet, year after year we are told that if we
were only willing to spend millions more, things would get better.
I have proposed legislation which would replace political control of our schools with
parent and teacher control. But while we are waiting for this legislation to be
enacted, I believe that the Jersey City public school system should be returned to local control.
Without local control, there is simply no direct accountability for the quality and cost of
education which our children receive.
The current takeover law requires a one year transition period before complete local
control is re-established. Therefore, I propose that the transition period begin on October 1,
1994 with Board members appointed by the mayor. At the end of the '94-'95 school year, local
control should begin to devolve to these newly appointed board members, with complete
transfer of power in effect by October 1995.
The reason why I believe that Board members should be appointed by the mayor rather
than be directly elected is because school board elections generate relatively low voter interest
as compared to municipal elections, and are far more likely to be dominated by the influence
of special interest groups who benefit from the current bureaucratically rigid system.
Residents often hold their local executive responsible for the fiscal policies of the public
school system. If local executives are to be held accountable for the School Board's spending,
it is only appropriate that the executive have some direct influence over the Board's
membership. An appointed Board allows members to exercise independent judgement, yet
through the Mayor, still be held accountable to the broader citizenry.
Judging from the lack of improvement in the past five years, extending the takeover for
another two or three years will not improve the quality of education. In fact, it may actually
delay the implementation of reforms which are necessary to turning
our schools around.
If the state is truly serious about increasing the quality of education in Jersey City's
public schools, it should give the people of Jersey City the power to reform the current system
into one which gives principals and teachers the opportunity to use their creativity and talents
to design innovative programs that specifically address the special needs of our children.
That is why the legislation I am introducing seeks to fundamentally reform our
education system in our public schools by giving teachers the power to create a wide variety
of innovative programs, and by empowering parents through tuition vouchers to send their
children to a non-governmental school if they so choose.
After five years of state control, only one question remains: are we really serious about
increasing the quality of education in Jersey City, or are we content with simply spending
more money on a failed system so that we can say, "Look, we're doing something."
I trust that when you look at the evidence and listen to the people of Jersey City, you
will be convinced that comprehensive reform under local leadership, or even better, parent
and teacher leadership, offers the children of Jersey City the best opportunity to have a
productive future.
Once again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with you on
this vital public policy issue. The people of Jersey City look forward to your decision
eagerly.
Bret Schundler
Mayor, Jersey City, NJ
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First in a series by Anthony Olszewski – Click HERE to find out more.
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