Month: June 2012

Debate over NJ’s education budget quietly focuses on funding formula

While the public discussion about New Jersey’s budget has largely turned on whose proposed tax cut is better and whose revenue estimate more accurate, quieter debate has also surfaced over the distribution of the largest piece of that budget: school funding.

Christie has called for a $213 million increase in school funding, to nearly $9 billion in direct state aid — by far the biggest piece of the budget. But while some have said the increase should be more and fully fund the state’s school finance law, much of the discussion has been around particular details in how the administration plans to distribute the money it has.  (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0530/2221/

Department of Education plans to release report cards for all N.J. schools

The state Department of Education today plans to release report cards for every school in the state’s nearly 600 districts, a spokesman for the department said.

The report cards give parents and teachers a thorough picture of a school’s academic and fiscal performance, giving them a tool to compare schools. The report cards include information on state test score achievement, per pupil spending and graduation rates among other statistics.

Last year’s school report cards revealed that per pupil spending had increased slightly between the 08-09 and 09-10 school years.   (Calefati, The Star-Ledger)

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/05/department_of_education_plans.html

Class warfare: America Lost 129,000 Millionaires in 2011
Published: Thursday, 31 May 2012 | 11:59 AM ET
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By: Robert Frank
CNBC Reporter & Editor

America’s millionaire population declined last year for the first time since the financial crisis, according to a new report.

The population of U.S. millionaire households (households with investible assets of $1 million or more) fell to 5,134,000 from 5,263,000 in 2011, according to The Boston Consulting Group’s Global Wealth study.

Total private wealth in North America fell by 0.9 percent, to $38 trillion.

The ultra-rich were the largest losers in dollar terms. Households in North America with investible assets of more than $100 million saw their wealth decline 2.4 percent. Their population declined slightly to 2,928 from 2,989.

https://www.cnbc.com/id/47631154