What'll it be, New Jersey, lower property taxes or local control of schools?
It's difficult to have both, as legislators are discovering as they struggle to meet the conflicting demands of residents who want the best for their children and the most for their money.
The experience of other states shows how hard it can be to satisfy both desires. The eight states with the highest property taxes are the eight states with the geographically smallest school districts.
New Jersey leads in both categories. With the nation's highest property taxes and smallest school districts, the state has ideal conditions for a collision of competing interests. Consolidating school districts could save money but weaken the cherished connection between communities and their schools.
States such as Florida and Maryland, where there is a single school district per county, "have tighter control on taxes, but there's also less of a connection that people feel with the school district," said Michael Griffith, a school finance consultant with the Education Commission of the States in Denver. "Hand in hand with local control is, typically, higher funding costs."
The current debate is not unique to New Jersey. Maine Gov. John E. Baldacci recently proposed eliminating hundreds of locally elected school boards and scores of superintendents and replacing them with 26 regional boards and schools chiefs. Baldacci, a Democrat, said the consolidation would save nearly $250 million over three years.
School district size is not the only factor in school costs. New Jersey's lower-than-average state and federal aid for schools, above-average teacher salaries, and high costs for special education also contribute.
And balanced against the issue of costs is the quality of education. New Jersey regularly ranks well above average in measures of academic performance, such as graduation rates and standardized test scores. This month, Education Week rated New Jersey second best in the nation for academic achievement.
The study ranked Massachusetts first, Vermont third, and Connecticut fourth in academic achievement. All, like New Jersey, are states with small districts and high property taxes. They were followed by Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia and Washington, which have bigger districts and lower property taxes. (Pennsylvania was ranked 10th in academic achievement and 14th in property tax level.)
