Cerf tells state board Newark schools succeeding in spite of funding shortage

The Newark superintendent said that as many as 4,500 more students are attending public and charter schools in the city than in 2011

NEWARK - Superintendent of Schools Christopher Cerf offered state officials an optimistic take on Newark schools' progress over the last year Wednesday morning, though he said the district continues to suffer from insufficient funding amid a steady influx of new students.

During an annual report on the city's schools before the state Board of Education in Trenton, Cerf outlined how he had whittled down a budget deficit that stood at $63 million when he arrived, to its current level of approximately $12 million.

As he searches for dollars to close the remaining gap, he said he has discovered that as many as 4,500 additional children now attend both city public and charter schools than in 2011, all while state funding has remained flat.

"The math is pretty simple. If your state aid is flat and your number of students go up, fourth grade arithmetic will tell you your per pupil dollars goes down," he said.

Gov. Chris Christie has chosen to underfund a formula established in the 2008 School Funding Reform Act due to a lack of revenue, resulting in school districts across the state receiving less than originally called for.

For the 2015-16 school year, Newark was slated to receive $715,271,519, according to Department of Education data - about $131 million less than the formula recommends.

According to Cerf, the flat lining was further compounded by a provision inserted into this year's budget that slightly eased per-pupil cuts to Newark charters in order to avoid potentially "catastrophic" effects on their ability to operate. The measure, he said, put further stress on traditional public schools in a city where many school buildings are more than a century old.

A noted advocate of education reform, he was careful to discourage the kind of public vs. charter debate that has often proven chaotic in Newark, but encouraged the state to further examine how funding was distributed.

"It's fabulous that so many charter schools are beating the odds. That's what we should care about...but the economics of that have not been thought through," he said.

Cerf also cited a number of statistics that he said showed significant progress in the schools, in order to counter what he has repeatedly called a "pervasive narrative of negativity."

"There's an awful lot of good things happening. I hope our friends in the media will start to take a more balanced view," he said.

Among those highlights were the district's increased graduation rate (from 56 percent in 2011 to 70 percent last year), a reduction in suspension rates and a steady move toward implementing digital curriculum and technology.

Board members offered on a handful of queries on the district's special education expenses, technology purchases and other items. The response stood in stark contrast to last year's annual report, when then-Superintendent Cami Anderson faced pointed questions regarding the botched implementation of her "One Newark" school reorganization plan and strained relationship with much of the community.

No critiques were offered on Wednesday, and the Department of Education Commissioner David Hespe welcomed Cerf, who held the same position from 2011 to 2013, with some kind words.

"Everything I'm hearing is great, that you're engaging everyone in the district," he said.

Ernest Lepore was among those who offered a question on Wednesday, asking Cerf to expand on why 95 percent of the district's highly rated teachers had returned to their positions this year.

Cerf said he believed the figure, offered as part of his earlier presentation, was a prime indicator that education in Newark was headed in the right direction.

"I believe that underneath all the roiling tumult are a lot of people who are believing they're participating in something that is bringing success to children," he said.

Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.