A New Jersey court took a step further in effectively tying Republican Governor Chris Christie’s hands on budget and education reform. Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne ruled that Christie’s budget cuts to school aid left public schools unable to provide a “thorough and efficient” education to New Jersey children.
Now the case goes to the state Supreme Court where those seven judges will decide whether to act on it or not.
Doyne’s decision is based on a decades-old ruling in the case Abbott vs. Burke that says the New Jersey state government has to equalize funding for all public schools. The intent was to make sure low-income or poorly performing schools weren’t left out during the appropriating process...
Doyne says the rule dictates that Christie’s $820 million cut to public schools last year doesn’t pass constitutional muster since it “fell more heavily upon our high risk districts and the children educated within those districts.”
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