>Acting N.J. education commissioner hoping other savings can ward off cuts
Acting Education commissioner Bret Schundler told lawmakers Thursday his team hoped to keep state aid to schools steady next year despite warnings they should prepare for 15-percent cuts — just in case. “We’re working hard to see if we can achieve state aid that’s flat but we don’t know if it’s possible,” he told the Assembly Education Committee. “We’re going to try our best to see if we can achieve economies elsewhere in the state budget” to alleviate the pain for schools.
Many educators said they were distressed Wednesday after Schundler and Governor Christie said districts should anticipate possible 15-percent cuts when they prepared budgets this spring. Asked after Thursday’s hearing whether 15-percent cuts were the worst-case scenario, Schundler said “that would be precipitous to say. I wouldn’t say yes, I wouldn’t say no.” (Brody, The Record)
