N.J. Coalition Advocates Less Reliance On Property Taxes

By Karen Diegmueller

A broad-based education coalition in New Jersey has proposed a new school-funding strategy that substantially reduces districts' dependence on local property taxes and eliminates voting on most local school budgets.

The plan by the New Jersey Association for the Public Schools Coalition calls for the state to assume a much larger proportion of funding for the vast majority of school districts.

But the plan does not address the thorny issue of how the state would raise the revenue to pay for its increased...