Christie Ordered to Add $500M to Needy Districts

It is sad that Christie thought he could come in and back out of promises that had been made. It is unfortunate that the NJ Supreme Court had to intervene and tell him what he needed to do. We know that all over the country that our schools are in danger and he intentionally held back funding. This is so sad.

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled the state must pour $500 million more into schools — but only in 31 of the state’s poorest or most overtaxed districts.

The high court said state breached promises to fully fund schools for three years, based on a court-approved formula. Gov. Chris Christie has shorted the formula by more than $3 billion statewide since taking office, and he has proposed shorting it in his upcoming budget. ( Read the decision.)

After the ruling Tuesday, Christie said he had a constitutional obligation to follow the court’s order, casting aside any possibility he might defy the court and plunge the state into a constitutional crisis. ”I’ve got to comply with what the court’s ordered because I have a constitutional obligation to do so,” he said.

The ruling was not the worst-case scenario for the governor’s budget proposal. Some had speculated the court would order the state to spend $1.7 billion in the upcoming year to bring the whole state in line with the formula.

But in a 3-2 decision, the court said its jurisdiction was limited to districts that have been represented for the past 30 years by the Newark-based Education Law Center in the case Abbott v. Burke. The law center sued the Christie administration last summer over the cuts.

The court said that New Jersey must spend $500 million more than planned in the 2011-12 budget year, which begins July 1, on needy districts in Newark, Paterson, Camden and Asbury Park.

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