Catholic school advocates seek more transportation and remedial instruction funding

Now that Gov. Phil Murphy has passed the state budget onto the legislature, New Jersey Catholic leaders are calling upon residents to contact their legislators regarding the funding needs of nonpublic school students. 

The New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC), the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops, sent out an action alert this week urging residents to contact legislators and request two types of student funding increases: school transportation and remedial instruction for language arts and mathematics. 

The NJCC and New Jersey Network of Catholic School Families support an increase in transportation funding from the statutory ceiling of $1,000 to at least $1,300 per pupil. In their explanation, they note that the ceiling for the current school year was increased in the last state budget by a mere $22 per pupil, hardly enough to cover bids on the routes by private companies. 

“Transportation is the lifeblood of nonpublic schools,” the NJCC stated in materials promoting the Action Alert, noting that private bus contractors currently serving over 85 percent of the nonpublic school routes may charge whatever they want. “No public-school child is ever denied a ride to school because of transportation costs.” 

Less funding for nonpublic school transportation will result in bus routes being eliminated, said Archdiocese of Newark superintendent of schools Barbara Dolan, and parents will have to “scramble for alternative ways” to get their children to school. 

“When parents can’t make transportation arrangements, they may be forced to withdraw their children because they can’t get them to their Catholic school,” Dolan said. 

Attempting to accommodate the lower per-student funding, nonpublic schools have tried combining public and nonpublic students on the same bus, eliminating half-school days and bidding routes at a reduced number of days. However, increases in fuel and decreasing numbers of school bus drivers have thwarted efforts to make busing available to all nonpublic school students, the NJCC stated. 

“The per-pupil amount for nonpublic school transportation was frozen for 17 years, and we are still trying to recover from that freeze,” according to the NJCC. “Legislation was enacted in 2003 that provided for an increase in the nonpublic transportation ceiling commensurate with the Consumer Price Index figure.” 

In addition, the NJCC and NJNCSF are advocating for an increase in funding for compensatory education from $1,040 to $1,300 per service. Known as Chapter 192, it has provided remedial instruction in language arts and mathematics for nonpublic school students since 1977. 

“Less funding for Chapter 192 services means that students will have class minutes cut, overall sessions reduced, and larger group sizes offered from state providers that are working with fewer educational dollars,” Dolan said. “This frustrates the purpose of the program, which is to give students the time and attention they need to bolster their basic skills.” 

Public school closures during the COVID pandemic, and the subsequent student transfers to nonpublic schools that remained open, exacerbated an already-dire deficit with the number of services increasing from 40,760 to 45,466.   

“Necessary adjustments for the loss of funding over the [pandemic] freeze include an increase in class size, reducing the number of minutes per week offered for each service, and eliminating services prior to the end of the school year,” according to the NJCC. 

The budget is now under discussion with the Legislature before their vote. Murphy must sign the state budget by July 1, the start of the fiscal year. To call, write or email your state legislators, go to njcatholic.org/faith-in-action. 

Featured image:  Austin Pacheco via Unsplash.