Schools: Allen Hits Corzine

Deputy Republican New Jersey Senate Leader Diane Allen of Burlington said Governor Corzine’s refusal to reveal which schools will have their budgets cut by his plan to take back $35 million in debt service aid is inexcusable. Corzine hasn’t said which districts will lose aid or how much aid they will lose. School districts have already put the aid into their budgets for 2009-2010. Removing it on short notice may require districts to ask for emergency property tax increases or come up with last-minute cutbacks in spending or hiring that will disrupt children’s education, Senator Allen said.
“The state Treasurer and the Governor both know which districts they will ask to make this sacrifice,” Allen said. “Corzine shouldn’t wait until July, after local budgets are already approved, to tell schools they’ll have to make cuts or raise taxes.”
The Garden State Coalition of Schools, which represents dozens of state districts, said last week that it’s pressing the governor to detail which districts will be required to pay back aid.
As the June 30 budget deadline approaches, Allen noted that the governor and Senate Budget Chair Barbara Buono have not let the public see Democratic proposals for final changes in the budget. The governor and Democratic Senate leaders said earlier this week that they expect to pass a budget by June 18, just eight days from today.
“Governor Corzine has said repeatedly that the public should hold him accountable,” Senator Allen said. “It’s hard to hold someone accountable for a budget that no one will see until after it’s passed.”
Allen noted that former state senators have been sentenced to jail time, in part because they tried to conceal where they were directing money from the state budget. That’s why Allen said she will oppose any effort to push through a budget before the public has had any chance to see the final budget agreement, she said.