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Sunday, October 02, 2011

Urban-schools advocacy group helping rural N.J. districts' lawsuit to recover state funding

An advocacy group for urban schools is helping 16 rural districts in New Jersey sue the state over cuts in their funding. The Education Law Center says the districts should get "nearly $19 million more than the $131 million they will get in the budget for this school year," Lisa Fleisher reports for The Wall Street Journal.

"They've had to cut teachers, they had to cut programs, they have had their class sizes go way up, they've had to cut bus routes, they've had to privatize staffing like cafeteria workers and bus drivers," Frederick Jacob, a lawyer representing the districts, mostly in southern New Jersey. Their case is based on 31 urban districts' successful challenge, with the center's help, to cuts Gov. Chris Christie made to avoid raising taxes. "Jacob said the rural school districts he represents can't raise taxes to fill in the gaps in funding, because property in town isn't worth enough," Fleisher reports.

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