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Underfunded rural school districts seek redress in court
Abbott v. Burke may get all the attention in New Jersey, but another case almost as old is heading back to court to challenge how the Christie administration funds schools.
Lawyers for 16 poor rural districts — virtually all in South Jersey — have gone back to the state appeals court to contend that they, too, are entitled to full funding under the state’s school funding law.
The districts are part of the Bacon v. New Jersey Department of Education case that was first filed in 1997 as a rural version of the Abbott case, which was on behalf of the state’s highest-poverty urban districts.
The Bacon case involves districts like Buena Regional, Clayton, Egg Harbor City, and Hammonton and maintains that these districts have also been underfunded for years due to their poverty. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)