Rible Blasts Special Master's Finding on Christie Education Cuts

Assemblyman Dave Rible (R-11) has blasted a ruling made by a court-appointed Special Master that called into question the constitutionality of Gov. Chris Chrsitie's state aid cuts for schools last year.

"Today’s Special Master opinion is another setback for New Jersey’s property taxpayers who undoubtedly will pay more towards education costs once the New Jersey Supreme Court interferes," Rible said.

"Our state already has the highest per pupil costs in the nation," he continued in a prepared statement. "With the court again about to dictate education policy, funding levels will soar even higher, placing another undue burden on our taxpayers."

Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne issued a decision on Tuesday which could set the stage for a constitutional battle over education funding in New Jersey.

Doyne claims that cuts made by Christie in his 2010 budget, which amounted to more than $800 million, made the state unable to provide a "thorough and efficient education" to public school students, as required by the state constitution.

Doyne also claimed that the majority of the hardship was suffered by the state's "high-risk" school districts, commonly referred to as Abbott districts, which had been receiving the majority of their school district funding from the state.

Local districts were also hard hit by the loss in state aid.

Manasquan lost nearly $1 million for the 2010-2011 school year that it had received for 2009-2010.

Christie was quick to go on the defensive, calling the opinion "crazy" during his Ask the Governor program on NJ101.5 and pointing to the statewide budget crisis he faced while creating last year's budget.

It is unclear at this point how the situation will play out, though a Supreme Court showdown is a possibility. The governor was mum when asked if he would reinstate the funding should the high court rule that way.

In February, Christie announced a promise to provide an additional $250 million in state funding with in southeastern Monmouth County.