Christie Asks Court To Vacate Abbott Ruling

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie is asking the state Supreme Court to reopen the landmark Abbott v. Burke school funding case and to give the state education chief power to bypass laws and bargaining agreements that protect veteran teachers, the governor's office announced Thursday.
In a legal filing by Attorney General Christopher Porrino, the Christie administration is asking the court to vacate its 2011 order that forbid Christie from slashing funding to the 31 districts represented in the case.
Christie also wants the state education commissioner to have the power to overrule state laws or labor agreements in those districts that he sees as detrimental to students, such as the "last in first out" policy for teacher layoffs.
Christie said increased funding guaranteed to 31 urban and low-income districts under the series of Abbott v. Burke Supreme Court rulings hasn't helped student performance, even though the districts receive a significantly greater percentage of state aid than suburban districts.
Meanwhile, tenure laws and collective bargaining agreements have hindered districts' ability to improve, he said.
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