The History and Future of School Finance Reform

Abstract

The Education Trust singled out New Jersey as a state that has made real progress in terms of funding. In 1997, the state had a funding gap of $787 per student in cost-adjusted dollars. By 2002, the gap had been erased, and the state had a $566 positive difference for low-income students. Starting in 1998, spurred partly by the state’s long running Abbott v. Burke school funding lawsuit, the state implemented a series of new funding programs designed to help low-income students. This chapter details the progress.