Essex County Executive Calls for Fair Share of School Construction Funding

by Elizabeth Moore

The county executive, legislators and school officials said vocational school districts that have an overwhelming percentage of their student population coming from Abbott Districts should receive funding equal to the special needs districts.

Calling the county Vocational Technical School District a "de facto" Abbott District because of where the students reside, DiVincenzo said, "Our county vocational schools address many of the same social, educational and financial issues that confront the Abbott District schools, but we do not receive the same level of funding."

"We are calling on state lawmakers to pass legislation that requires Essex County and other vocational technical school districts to receive our fair share of school construction funding from the state," he said.

Assemblyman Ralph Caputo, who is also vice-president of the Essex County Freeholder Board, said, "All we are asking for is vocational school districts to become Abbott Districts. It shouldn't matter where the kids go to school."

The Essex County Vocational Technical School District is the oldest vocational district in New Jersey and its school buildings at North 13th Street in Newark and Bloomfield Tech on Franklin Street in Bloomfield are aging. The county executive noted a significant amount of funding will be needed to upgrade and repair the two buildings. He suggested if the county were eligible for 100 percent funding, it would be able to pursue a plan to build a modern school and consoldiate classes from two or three sites into the new centralized location.

DiVincenzo also noted that $50 million of school construction money that has been set aside for building improvements in vocational districts is insufficient to meet the needs throughout the state. He said his proposal doesn't take away funding from other schools but rather makes vocational school districts including Essex County eligible for 100 percent reimbursement from the total $2.9 billion of funding from the School Construction Commission.

In addition, the county executive urged state lawmakers to pass legislation that would require state aid to "follow" students from their home district to the vocational school district. School district officials said Essex County receives $11,000 in state aid for each student from Newark attending the vocational school district. However, Newark Public Schools receives about $21,000 in state curriculum aid per student - the $11,000 difference is kept by the state. The county also receives less in state aid than home districts for their students from Orange, East Orange and Irvington who attend vocational technical schools.

DiVincenzo proposed that state curriculum funding follow students so that the same amount of aid would be allocated for the student whether they attend school in their home district or in the vocational school district.

"The curriculum aid provided by the state should follow the student, but it doesn't. We are losing millions of dollars a year and the additional burden is falling on the backs of our taxpayers,"DiVincenzo added.

"The Essex County Vocational Technical Schools are preparing our students for future educational career successes that offer options for college, technical schools and job opportunities. Our unique academies of learning are preparing our students for career opportunities in the fields of health care, energy and law enforcement, to name just a few," said Dr. Michael Pennella, Superintendent of the county's vocational-technical schools. "With a fair funding formula, we will be better able to continue providing our students with a first-class education in modern facilities."

DiVincenzo said he began lobbying for fair funding for vocational school districts while he was an Essex County Freeholder. In 1995, while serving as freeholder president, he joined with the late State Senator Winona Lipman to seek equity in the state funding formula for county vocational school districts that have a large enrollment of students from Abbott Districts. He continued his campaign after being elected county executive in 2003.

Last month, three of the Essex County Vocational Technical Schools were recognized for outstanding achievement by U.S. News & World Report magazine for the second consecutive year. Essex County's North 13th Street, Bloomfield Tech and Newark Tech Campuses were recognized as bronze medal winners in 2008 and again in 2009 by U.S. News & World Report, which published its list of America's 1,000 Best High Schools in its December 8th edition.