NJ Supreme Court rejects Christie request to break teacher union rules

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an attempt by Gov. Christie to reopen the landmark Abbott v. Burke case that directed resources to urban school districts, denying his administration the power to freeze funding and break union contracts.

Christie had sought to override teacher tenure laws and collectively negotiated agreements in the former Abbott districts if the state determines those rules impede the delivery of a "thorough and efficient" education — as promised by the New Jersey Constitution.

That clause has underpinned the Abbott rulings, which required the state to send additional resources to special-needs districts.

But tenure laws and union agreements "have not been the subject of prior litigation" in the case, the court said in a two-page order Tuesday. It declined to take up those issues but said the Republican governor's administration could pursue them at the trial court level.

Addressing reporters at a news conference Tuesday in Newark, Christie declined to comment on whether he would take the matter to a trial court, saying he hadn't yet reviewed the Supreme Court order.

As he has in the past, the governor panned the court's school-funding rulings, attributing the state school-funding formula to "seven people in black robes who have no business doing what they've done."

The Education Law Center, which represents a certified class of all schoolchildren in the 31 Abbott districts and argued against Christie's request, said Tuesday that the court's ruling reflected the correct focus of the case.

"Issues related to collective bargaining and teacher layoffs were never in the Abbott case, which has been singularly focused on ensuring adequate funding and resources for students in New Jersey's poorest schools," said David Sciarra, the center's executive director.

Abbott districts include Burlington City, Camden, Gloucester City, and Pemberton in South Jersey.

The order also denied a request by the governor's administration to freeze Abbott district funding at current levels. Given that, "we anticipate the governor will follow the Abbott rulings" and school-funding formula in his forthcoming budget, Sciarra said.

The funding formula, which was passed by lawmakers in 2008 and found constitutional by the court, allots districts a certain amount of state aid per student, with extra aid for students with special needs.

But the state hasn't budgeted the full amount, leaving many districts unfunded: At least $1 billion  more would be required to do so.

The formula has also drawn complaints of inequity, with many districts continuing to receive aid that was supposed to be phased out. So-called adjustment aid — allotted to districts in 2008 to ensure they didn't receive less than before the passage of the new formula — has been targeted recently by Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), who is calling for phasing out the aid and giving more funding to growing school districts.

One of those growing districts, Kingsway Regional School District in Gloucester County, said last week that it planned to join in Christie's motion before the Supreme Court and sue for more funding.

The district's superintendent, James Lavender, did not return messages Tuesday about its plans in light of the order.

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D., Hudson), while objecting to Sweeney's approach, also has called for reexamining the funding formula. Both Democratic leaders want to spend more on schools: Sweeney has proposed an additional $500 million over five years and Prieto, "fully funding" all districts.

Christie has proposed redistributing existing state funding to schools, giving each district the same amount of aid per student, with some special-needs exceptions. The proposal would slash aid to the Abbott districts and give property tax relief to suburban communities.

Sweeney and Prieto have dismissed Christie's plan.

"It should be clear to everyone – including the governor – that his plan is not going to prevail and should be declared dead," Prieto said in a statement after the court order Tuesday. "I don't want to see it proposed in the state budget nor by any other means." He called on Christie to "give up this court fight and instead work with the Legislature to devise sensible changes."

In Newark on Tuesday, Christie took credit for the recent attention by lawmakers to the funding issue.

"All of a sudden in year eight, they seem to have an appetite," he said. Referring to his funding plan, he added: "Maybe that's because I proposed the Fairness Formula."

He didn't rule out working with lawmakers. "The same way I can't get anything done without them, they can't get anything done without me," he said.