Advocates issued several ‘open letters’ to lawmakers this week around the ongoing school funding issue.
The first letter, signed by a number of organizations, asked the Legislature to redistribute $51 million in charter school funding that Gov. Chris Christie has proposed for Fiscal Year 2018 to the neediest districts. The money is considered an add-on, outside of the school-funding formula, to support charter schools with growing enrollments. The letter also asked the Legislature to strike down Christie’s proposal to allocate $1 million for a school voucher program.
In response, the New Jersey Charter Schools Association and several ed reform advocates sent a letter to the Legislature, urging lawmakers to reject “divisive rhetoric” that has blamed charter schools for New Jersey’s school-funding problems.