Judge Decides NJ Isn't Spending Enough on Public Schools

Why do we even bother having governors and a legislature if judges can simply decide on their own how much taxpayers are forced to pay for schools?

Gov. Chris Christie's deep cuts to state school aid last year left New Jersey's schools unable to provide a "thorough and efficient" education to the state's nearly 1.4 million school children, a Superior Court judge found today.

Judge Peter Doyne, who was appointed as special master in the long-running Abbott vs. Burke school funding case, today issued an opinion that also found the reductions "fell more heavily upon our high risk districts and the children educated within those districts."

"Despite spending levels that meet or exceed virtually every state in the country, and that saw a significant increase in spending levels from 2000 to 2008, our 'at risk' children are now moving further from proficiency," he said.

Gov. Chris Christie's office said that Judge Doyne himself acknowledged that the Supreme Court limited his inquiry by excluding consideration of the state's budget crisis.

"Critically, he also noted that, despite the fact New Jersey meets or exceeds all other states in spending for 'at-risk' students, many of those students continue to fail to meet basic educational proficiency," said spokesman Michael Drewniak. "The Supreme Court should at last abandon the failed assumption of the last three decades that more money equals better education, and stop treating our state’s fiscal condition as an inconvenient afterthought."

Maybe if these kids are still failing we ought to look at the teachers.

Oh wait, we already tried that and it resulted in death wishes for the governor.

We're already spending well over $13,000 per pupil already and cannot afford the runaway spending. Christie has tried, but it seems nothing he does matters when a judge can just decide it isn't enough.