New Graphs for Old Posts: Part 2

Hi, these are some new graphs I've added to old posts.

The graphs contain information I either didn't put together or didn't have when I wrote the original posts.

1.  Abbott/Bacon Comparisons

These graphs compare FRL-eligibility and Local Fair Share per student in the Abbott districts and Bacon districts.

The point is to underscore that the Bacon districts are NOT rural equivalents of the Abbotts.  The Bacons are poorer than average, but as a class they are not even remotely the poorest in New Jersey.

2.  Jersey City Pre-K Cost Growth

This is an addition to my post "Jersey City's Development Boom, Pre-K, and the Aid Cuts Coming Your Way."

The post was about the increasing difficulty the state will be under in fulfilling the Supreme Court's mandate that all children in the ABbotts get two years of state-funded Pre-K.

Jersey City's Pre-K population is expected to grow by 25% in only five years due to Jersey City's building boom.  This will probably cost the state $30 million.

K-12 state aid is expected to be stagnant, so the money for Jersey City's "free" Pre-K will have to be taken from other districts.

Anyway, this graph shows the cost growth of JC's Pre-K since 2007-08 and compares it to K-12 state aid.

3.  Contrasting Construction Cost Sharing between Abbotts and non-Abbotts

This is being inserted into my post "Education Law Center Ignores Budget Crisis, Common Sense, Demands More Money for the Abbotts."

With few exceptions, the Abbott districts pay 0% of construction costs.  

The amount of money non-Abbotts have to contribute varies.  The SDA (Schools Development Authority) purports to pay for at least 40% of construction costs itself, but there are numerous restrictions on what non-Abbotts can even apply for construction for, so comparing cost sharing between Abbotts and non-Abbotts is not an apples to apples comparison.

Moreover, the amount the SDA pays in non-Abbotts varies.  

However, you can always get a representative snapshot view of construction funding for non-Abbotts.  I found such a snapshot in the April to September 2011 Biannual Report of the SDA. 

During that time, the SDA supported projects at 108 schools with a TOTAL COST of $105,263,754.  For those projects the local contribution was $56,954,285.  Therefore the local cost sharing for this period was 53%.

Thus, I am adding this chart to compare Abbott and non-Abbott cost sharing.  To avoid any nitpicking about what the local cost share is for non-Abbotts, this charter specifically refers to only the mid-2011 period.