Dozens of Schools to Benefit From Funds in Corzine Budget
By JOHN MOONEY
Piscataway
nytimes.com
WHEN Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a new school financing law for New Jersey last year, the school district here was just the kind the new formula was meant to help.
With its high property taxes and relatively low spending for schools, the Middlesex County district, situated on the edge of Rutgers University, won a 20 percent boost in state aid, or about $2.7 million.
“We brought down property taxes, while able to hold down class sizes,” said Robert Copeland, the district’s superintendent. "It stopped us from having to cut programs.”
A year later, all the economic rules have changed, especially after last week, when Mr. Corzine presented his austere $28.9 billion state budget plan for next year. School officials throughout the state have been worried that any gains from last year could prove fleeting in the next.
Over all, Mr. Corzine’s budget will make almost no one happy, especially many homeowners who will not be able to deduct property taxes on state income tax returns for at least a year. But schools have been spared the worst cuts, and indeed dozens of public school districts will benefit from Mr. Corzine’s proposal, including Piscataway.
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