Some say it would save millions, By Tom Hester Jr. New Jersey property tax payers would save significant money if the state created countywide school districts, a key state senator said Wednesday, Sept. 5 after examining how Maryland’s county school system spends less money than New Jersey. Sen. Robert Smith, co-chairman of a special committee mulling how to lower New Jersey’s property taxes, said he expected the panel to spend more time in the coming weeks studying how the state can cut its 616 school districts to 21 county school districts. “There’s the potential for serious savings,” said Smith, D-Middlesex. A move to 21 county school districts would be a massive shift for New Jersey public schools, but Smith said change is needed. The state funds public schools largely through property taxes, which are the highest in the nation. About 55 percent of the $20 billion in property taxes collected annually in New Jersey goes to public schools, as does about a third of the $31 billion state budget. “We right now have the most ineffective and wasteful educational delivery system in America,” Smith said. New Jersey has about 1,400 local governments, and many believe taxpayers can save money if those governments are either consolidated or enticed to share services. The committee is among four studying property tax reforms as part of a plan to rework the state’s tax system by end of the year. Garden State property owners pay an average of $6,000 per year, twice the national average. The tax has been going up about 7 percent annually. Smith’s committee on Wednesday heard from Mary E. Clapsaddle, an assistant state superintendent for the Maryland Education Department who explained how the state has 24 county school districts that spend about $9,200 per student and fund operations using state aid, property taxes and county income taxes. New Jersey spends about $12,000 per student. But what caught Smith’s attention were statistics that showed Maryland spent about 3 percent of its education funding on administrative expenses, compared to about 10 percent in New Jersey. “That was the shocker,” Smith said. Maryland school children perform worse than those in New Jersey on standardized tests, but Smith said that must be balanced with statistics that indicate Maryland has more children from poverty-stricken backgrounds than New Jersey. Clapsaddle said Maryland’s 24 school districts are each governed by a school board and superintendent, with principals running local schools. She said each county has its own authority to set curriculum and make other independent decisions. “We strongly believe in local control,” she said. The committee also heard Wednesday from Enid Slack, of the University of Toronto, who discussed how seven municipal governments were merged into one in Toronto in 1998. She said the merger was opposed by residents, caused problems with responses to local needs and hasn’t produced savings, though she couldn’t detail figures. “There are reasons to consolidate municipalities, but I would argue that cost savings is not one of them,” Slack said. Last week, three professors told the special committee that mergers wouldn’t produce major savings and may cost more money. Smith said he wasn’t discouraged by the Toronto testimony because it involved municipal mergers and a large city. He said he wants his panel to study municipal mergers in the coming weeks, but also said whether the state could save on transportation and insurance costs when creating county school districts also would be examined. The committees have until Nov. 15 to devise reform recommendations.