Consolidation Still Possible For Oaklyn Schools

OAKLYN, NJ — The Oaklyn K-9 Public School District remains among 274 districts statewide that are under consideration for consolidation under a proposal together by a panel convened by a top New Jersey lawmaker to study tax and fiscal policy.

It was listed among the districts on the list put together by a panel last year. It is the only district in the state that uses a K-9 format. Students in 6th-12th grades attend the Collingswood middle and high schools.

Read more here: Oaklyn Public School District May Disappear Under New State Plan

Now, Senate President Stephen Sweeney is speaking to business groups and others around the state and pitching a 32-recommendation "Path to Progress" plan that he, 26 analysts and so-called experts helped draw up last year.

Sweeney, speaking to the New Jersey Business and Industry Association on Tuesday, said he had one goal in mind: Avoiding raising taxes.

Indeed, Sweeney and other lawmakers have pushed back against Gov. Phil Murphy's plan to raise taxes on millionaires this year, saying the state should search elsewhere for revenues to help balance the budget.

"There is no money for anything unless we raise taxes," Sweeney said. "I, for one, have had enough of raising taxes."

Those recommendations included in the "Path to Progress" include:

• Merge all K-4, K-5, K-6, K-8, and K-9 school districts into K-12 regional districts to improve the quality of education and promote efficiency.
• Install high-occupancy toll lanes (or HOT lane) on I-80, I-295, I-287, among others.
• Permit the establishment of two countywide school district pilot programs.
• Explore the viability of transferring major assets such as the New Jersey Turnpike system to the state pension system to lower the unfunded liability and generate new revenue streams for the pension system.
• Create a Property Tax Assessment Study Commission to study the state's tax assessment practices and make recommendations for countywide or regional tax assessment to ensure consistency and efficiency.

The plan is similar to a letter released last year that also detailed potentially dramatic policy changes proposed by the "Economic and Fiscal Policy Working Group," another Sweeney-supported think-tank.

That letter drew controversy when it talked about requiring municipalities with less than 5,000 people to merge with adjacent municipalities. Read more: Eliminating 191 Towns? More Tolls? Look At What NJ Could Do

Sweeney acknowledged that his school consolidation plan would be unpopular, but he also believes that it could provide the state an additional $1 billion.

"The goal is to eliminate the administration, put a principal in the school, get rid of the school district, leave a principal, let the regional high school become a K-12 district," he said. "You go from 600 districts to 320."

"That's not a bad idea," he added. "You'll save probably close to about a billion dollars."