The Saddle Brook Schools may join with several other local school districts in a lawsuit appealing unfunded state education mandates.
Superintendent Dr. Richard Katz at the Jan. 15 school board meeting said that school districts including Denville, Montville, Readington and Wayne have been making appeals either to the New Jersey Council of Local Mandates, or directly to the Commissioner of Education about unfunded mandates.
Katz said they are specifically appealing the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) standardized tests, the Common Core Curriculum and Achieve New Jersey because they cost a tremendous amount of money to implement and receive no additional funding. Board attorney Isabel Machado is representing several of the districts and reached out to Saddle Brook, Katz said.
Ultimately, they are seeking an order from the Council of Local Mandates that rules the latest unfunded mandates unconstitutional. "I don't see PARCC or Common Core going away as a result of that, but what could come out of it if we prevail is some kind of funding," Katz said. If it's ruled unconstitutional, he added, the district would no longer be responsible for funding the programs.
Katz said they are specifically appealing the new Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) standardized tests, the Common Core Curriculum and Achieve New Jersey because they cost a tremendous amount of money to implement and receive no additional funding.
Board attorney Isabel Machado is representing several of the districts and reached out to Saddle Brook, Katz said. Ultimately, they are seeking an order from the Council of Local Mandates that rules the latest unfunded mandates unconstitutional.
"I don't see PARCC or Common Core going away as a result of that, but what could come out of it if we prevail is some kind of funding," Katz said.
If it's ruled unconstitutional, he added, the district would no longer be responsible for funding the programs.
In NY, the state has added more and more mandates ever since Race to the Top, overburdening districts even as state aid remains below 2009 levels.
Perhaps a few districts banding together and suing over some of those costly mandates - like the APPR mandate - is in order.
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