Manalapan-Englishtown School District Will Lose $50,000 Sending Kids to Charter School

During a budget workshop meeting last week, the Manalapan-Englishtown Board of Education reviewed a PowerPoint presentation of the 2011-12 school budget that was presented again last night to the public.

It was revealed that the district will pay approximately $50,000 to send three children, and possibly some of their siblings, to public charter schools. This general fund allocation was controversial among the board.  

Superintendent John J. Marciante Jr. explained that he contacted the state about the arrangement because some initial rules existed that required children to live in proximity to the charter school they chose to attend. Once a child is accepted into the state-approved charter school, they are permitted to stay even if they move.

“There are no rules now,” said Marciante. “You can go to any charter school in the state of New Jersey, and the district from where you’re coming from – where you live – is required to do what we’re doing. And that’s just the way it is,” he added. 

Tom Hester Sr. of NewJerseyNewsroom.com reported on the Governor's visit to Newark in January, where Christie spoke on the issue. 

"It is not acceptable that a child who is neglected in a New Jersey school must accept it because of their zip code,” said Christie.

The idea of charter schools has become increasingly popular in New Jersey, as Governor Chris Christie has proven to be their champion. In January, the administration announced that 23 new charters were approved for development.

Board President Donna Formoso and Marciante discussed how you can be a millionaire with waterfront property in Neptune and send your child to a charter school in another part of the state. Formoso joked that she’s moving.

Starting next year the district will be required to pay roughly $9,800 dollars per student to attend charter school. The estimated cost per pupil supposedly covers transportation fees. In order to receive transportation, students must apply through the school district. The $9800 should also cover costs if the student is special education eligible.

The district is required to pay over 90 percent of our general categorical aid and a portion of the tax levy dollars per pupil based on the state calculations.

According to Board Secretary and Business Administrator Veronica Wolfe, the three children were in a non-public school and are now attending a public charter school in East Brunswick and South Plainfield.

“I guess we should be lucky it’s only three kids then,” said Board Member Lori Semel.

However, Wolfe said that some of the siblings in these families will attend the charter school, so the district is allocating $50,000.

“Wait till this catches on,” added Board Member Annamarie Galante.

Christie is also trying to introduce a new methodology of how charter schools are approved that would bypass State Department of Education. Wolfe said that the Governor wants to decommission the process to allow county colleges to review applications make the determination on whether a proposed charter school met the criteria to be a charter school and authorize the charter.

Marciante gave two examples of nearby districts that lose aid money due to charter schools: Red Bank Borough loses a million dollars in aid and East Brunswick loses $500,000.

Meanwhile, Christie cut nearly a billion dollars in aid from public schools in 2010.

Superintendent Marciante called the cuts an “unprecedented financial crisis” that will continue for another year.  

On March 22, Judge Peter Doyne, the special master in the hallmark Abbott v. Burke case, rejected Christie’s decision to cut aid by nearly $1 billion in the 2010-11 budget. He found that the cuts left schools unable to fund a “thorough and efficient education” as mandated in the NJ state constitution.

“The state’s attempt to be equitable with the cuts last year was not successful,” said Marciante. He added that he wasn’t completely sure of the consequences of the decision.

Board President Donna Formoso asked if the state could turn around and take money away from the district, but Wolfe said that the judge did not mention a reallocation.

“I think what he’s telling them is that you’re not going to be able to do this again,” said Marciante.  

Doyne wrote: “For the limited question posed to the Master, it is clear the State has failed to carry its burden.”

The Christie administration was obviously not pleased with Doyne’s decision and awaits the state Supreme Court’s review.

“The Supreme Court should at last abandon the failed assumption of the last three decades that more money equals better education, and stop treating our state’s fiscal condition as an inconvenient afterthought," said Christie’s press secretary Michael Drewniak, according to another Hester report.

N.J. Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth), the senior Republican on the Budget Committee and Manalapan-Englishtown’s representative, also commented on the decision.

“Everyone who pays property taxes or cares about education in New Jersey should brace themselves for another potential blow from the New Jersey Supreme Court,” said O’Scanlon. “The beleaguered taxpayers of New Jersey, who carry the worst burden in the nation, deserve for us all to focus on spending their money more wisely, rather than spending more of it,” he added.

In Englishtown, residents face a 5.2 cent increase per $100 assessed value, which, as Wolfe explained, is largely attributed to a lack of ratables in the small municipality.

“I can buy this land and put a charter school up,” said Board Member Brian Graime; it was a joke suggestion that earned a laugh from his colleagues.

The Board of Education’s public hearing on the budget will take place at 7:30 PM tonight at Wemrock Brook School at 118 Millhurst Road, Manalapan.

The proposed budget may be viewed through the district’s website, by clicking here.