New Funding Formula in N.J. Faces Hurdles

Governor notes plan’s passage in annual speech to lawmakers.

New Jersey lawmakers approved a new school funding formula Jan. 7 that would give more money to needy districts outside the state’s large cities, a milestone that Gov. Jon Corzine noted in his State of the State speech a day later.

The school funding plan, a cornerstone of the Democratic governor’s education agenda, cleared the legislature on the last day of its 2006-07 legislative session, only hours before the 2008-09 session was to begin.

But the spending formula still faces significant hurdles, including passing muster with the state supreme court, which has been overseeing how the state spends education money in its poorest urban districts as part of...