School Boards Seek Waiver in Proposed Tax Cap (NJ)
July 2, 2010
The governor’s proposal to cap property tax increases should allow school districts waivers for high and unpredictable costs fo r special education, the New Jersey School Boards Association said Thursday.
The group noted that when a child with extreme disabilities enrolls, a district has little control over the bills but has a legal duty to provide services that can cost more than $100,000 for residential placement.
"A reasonable cap would take into account expenditures that are clearly outside a local school district’s control," said Marie Bilik, the association president.
The Legislature began a special session Thursday to debate Governor Christie’s proposed cap barring towns and school districts from raising taxes more than 2.5 percent in any year. Christie wants a cap with limited exceptions, such as debt service and certain capital costs, and he says voters should have the say in allowing any cap overrides.
Critics argue that a hard cap is too harsh. Now, the state’s 4 percent cap on tax levy increases by school districts allows waivers for those facing major increases in special education bills.
The governor’s spokesman, Michael Drewniak, said Thursday that Christie’s proposal did not make exceptions for special education.
"We are in a difficult economic period," Drewniak said. "We recognize that and the difficulties it imposes on schools and municipalities, as well as the state government. It is our belief, however, that with the reforms we have enacted and those we are pursuing, school districts will have the resources they need to provide for all students."
Christie is also pushing for measures that will give districts more leverage in collective bargaining and curbing pensions. Several North Jersey superintendents said a hard tax cap woul d force districts to dig deeper into allocations for regular classrooms, transportation and other areas to cover the rising costs of services for special needs children.
"It’s a huge concern," said Adam Fried, superintendent in Harrington Park. "You don’t know what children are moving into a district. Their needs could be minimal or quite severe. … With a 2.5 percent cap, in a small district like ours with a $10 million budget, where is that money going to come from?"
Meanwhile, many teachers, parents and advocates say deep budget cuts for the 2010-11 school year, prompted by big reductions in state aid, are already taking a toll on services for special needs children. Their families report cuts in tutoring, reduced summer programs and rising caseloads for therapists. They worry their children’s futures will be grim if they don’t get enough help.
New Jersey’s Education Department serves roughly 234,000 students ages 3 to 21 with disabilities. The state budget signed by Christie this week shaved special-education categorical aid to districts to $620 million, down from $730 million last year. As districts grappled with the loss of federal stimulus funding and state aid cuts worth 5 percent of their budgets for the school year that began Thursday, special education teachers in many districts were pink-slipped.
In Saddle Brook, for example, one of four speech therapist positions was eliminated. Teri Quirk, who kept her job, said she didn’t know how she could handle more speech students. "If a child’s plan says you take them two to three times a week, you have to, by law," she said. "If I take someone else’s caseload and they’re all in two to three times a week, it’s impossible."
Brenda Considine, coor dinator for the advocacy Coalition for Special Education Funding Reform, said many families with special needs children are afraid to express concerns about cuts in their programs "because they’re afraid of retribution" at a time when so many school activities are being axed and class sizes may grow.
"Other taxpayers may be resentful of special ed provisions," said Considine, who has one child with a disability. "I hear people saying, ‘Gee, how come we now have to pay for sports uniforms?’ or ‘They’re getting rid of courtesy busing.’ They point to special ed services where a lot of money is going for relatively few students. Parents reply, ‘We didn’t choose this. We wish our children didn’t need the services.’ "
If services costs for a child exceed $40,000, the state chips in "extraordinary aid" to help cover the bills. Even so, superintendents complain they have no control over tuition charged by private settings; they say if they’re subject to tax levy caps, these vendors should have price caps, too.
Robert Holster, superintendent of the Passaic City district, said special education should be exempt from any cap because the cost is "overwhelming" and rising fast. Just last week, he was told one child in his purview will need a $125,000 placement next year. Now he allocates $60 million — a quarter of his budget — for students with special needs, up from $18 million 12 years ago. Tutoring, for example, costs $60 to $140 per hour.
But it’s crucial to give such students as much training as possible, Holster said: "Their future is bleak if we don’t prepare them." Advocates say recent months have been especially contentious for parents meeting with school officials to make children’s "individual educati on plans" (IEP) for the fall. Some parents say that schools are trimming one-on-one aides and bringing children back from out-of-district placements to save money, not because their children would benefit.
"This annual review season was almost unbearable," said Renay Zamloot, an advocate who helps parents argue for services. "I’ve been doing this for 15 years and I have never seen anything like this. … I’m seeing evidence that IEP decisions are being made based on cost rather than individual needs of students more now than ever."
Parents who dispute a district’s plans can file for mediation or a court hearing. Lisa Parles, a Saddle Brook attorney for special needs children, said calls from upset parents are up tenfold from last spring. "We’re working round the clock in this office," she said.