Court Opinion

ID: 9640425
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 17:05:52.849692+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:29.757560
License: Public Domain

Pashman, J.
(dissenting). The majority today enjoins the allocation or expenditure of any funds for the support of any free public school. If this order fails to compel the Legislature to raise sufficient revenues to fully fund the 1975 Act, it will then force the closing of all public schools in New Jersey on July 1, 1976. In issuing this order, it would be better if we could speak with a single voice. But I have no obligation to join in an undertaking which will bring education to a destructive standstill. I cannot join in any order which, even potentially, has such a self-defeating effect on public education. This result is as unacceptable as it is unthinkable. Even if instruction were to be resumed sometime within the year or in subsequent years, the very foundation and fabric of the State system of public education would be irreparably damaged. Rather than redressing persistent constitutional deficiencies in the present system of financing public education, the order exacerbates those deficiencies. Therefore, I must dissent from such an ill-considered and incredible disposition of this matter.
On September 29, 1975, the Public School Education Act of 1975, L. 1975, c. 212, codified as N. J. S. A. 18A:7A-1 et seq. (hereinafter the “1975 Act”) was signed into law. It was enacted pursuant to the Legislature’s constitutional obligation to provide a thorough and efficient system of instruction for all school children in the State.1 Moro impor*167tantly, the 1975 Act was intended as a response to the existing constitutional infirmities identified by our courts in the current system of financing public education.* 2
On January 30, 1976, a majority of this Court sustained the facial validity of that Act. Robinson V, supra, 69 N. J. 449.3 This holding was predicated upon the assumption that the 1975 Act would be fully funded for the 1976-1977 school year. Robinson V, supra, 69 N. J. at 454-467 n. 2. Accordingly, the Court retained jurisdiction for the purpose of issuing an appropriate remedial order if the Legislature failed to provide for full fiscal implementation of the Act. Robinson V, supra, 69 N. J. at 468. On February 19, 1976, when it appeared that such funding might not be forthcoming, we issued an order to show cause why one or more of several enumerated remedies should not be imposed. Robinson VI, *168supra, —- N. J. at-. The matter was heard before this Court on March 25, 1976.
At the outset, it should be noted that any order which provides less than full funding for the 1975 Act will be an inadequate remedial response to the current crisis. Clearly, without full funding, the constitutional deficiencies which were identified four years ago, will remain unremedied and unaddressed. Without full funding, the inexcusable deprivation of the constitutional rights of iy2 million New Jersey school children will persist into its fifth year. I agree with the majority that full funding is a constitutional requisite. This is entirely consistent with the position taken by this Court in Robinson V:
We should and do proceed upon the assumption that complete funding will be forthcoming to furnish the necessary means to put the statute into full operation. The determination we reach — that the statute is facially constitutional — rests upon this assumption. Put more plainly, the 1975 Act, absent funding, could never be considered a constitutional compliance with the 1875 amendment to the New Jersey Constitution ■ — ■ adjuring the legislative establishment of a system of thorough and efficient education. [Robinson V, 69 N. J. at 454 n. 2]
In light of these pronouncements, it seems incredible to me that the majority of this Court has today issued an order which is tantamount to closing all public schools on July 1, 1976. I fail to see how this order can be reconciled with the important principles noted above to which the majority has previously and consistently adhered.
The distinction between “full funding” and “no funding” is obvious. Eull funding of the 1975 Act, while not synonymous with satisfaction of the standard established by the Education Clause (see note 3 supra), nevertheless would go a long way toward achieving that goal. The injunction against all funding, by comparison, might effect an irreversible retreat to colonial times when public education — recognized by Thomas Jefferson as vital to both free government and *169national progress4 — was almost nonexistent. This would be an unfortunate legacy of the early history of our Nation to emulate in this Bicentennial year. Moreover, were public schools to close, the existing inequities in educational opportunity would only be exacerbated, since wealthy parents would undoubtedly find private means for providing educational instruction to their children. Thus, posing the threat of locked school doors on July 1, 1976 is an illogical and unacceptable solution to the school financing crisis. Finally, it is a remedy which both subverts the constitutional mandate of the Education Clause and undermines the hopes and desires of the school children of this State.5
Surely, .the most appropriate solution to the problem of financing public education would be forthright action by the Legislature to appropriate sufficient funds to completely implement the 1975 Act. However, absent such action, this Court, "as the designated last-resort guarantor of the Constitution’s command,” must fill the void. Robinson IV, supra, 69 N. J. at 154-55. This Court has stayed its hand on numerous occasions during the course of this litigation. *170Robinson I, supra, 62 N. J. at 520-21; Robinson II, supra, 63 N. J. at 198: Robinson III, supra, 67 N. J. at 40; Robiivson V, supra, 69 N. J. at 454-455. Even where it has acted, the Court has proceeded with utmost restraint and respect for the independence and integrity of the coordinate branches of government. See, e. g., Robinson IV, supra, 69 N. J. at 152-53, 154 — 55 and cases cited.
The action of the majority is now undertaken so that the Legislature may somehow hear the blast, feel the heat and see the light of its judicial edict. However, I am not willing to further entertain the ephemeral hope that legislative action will be forthcoming. I need only repeat what the United States Supreme Court concluded in Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward Cty., 377 U. S. 218, 229, 84 S. Ct. 1226, 1232, 12 L. Ed. 2d 256, 264 (1964) : “There has been entirely too much deliberation and not enough speed in enforcing the constitutional rights which we held . . . had been denied.”
In light of these principles, I would enter the following remedial order:
(1) All local school budgets for the 1976-1977 school year are hereby set aside; all local boards of education shall reconsider their budgets on the assumption that the figures previously supplied by the Commissioner of Education for a fully-funded level of State aid under Chapter 212 are accurate, appropriate and effective. Each board shall, if necessary, readjust its budget to correlate with those figures. All local boards of education shall by May 28, 1976 submit their “revised” budgets to the Commissioner of Education who shall then review them. Where necessary, he shall consult with the local boards, order necessary adjustments and approve said budgets no later than June 18, 1976. (2) The Commissioner shall not approve any local school budget which eliminates an existing program or staff position maintained during the 1975-1976 school year unless the local board can demonstrate that said program or staff position *171is not essential for the maintenance of a thorough and efficient system of education. The Commissioner shall not approve any local school budget which is less than the total adopted budget for 1975-1976 unless the local board can demonstrate to the Commissioner that said reduction will not impair the provision of a thorough and efficient system of education. The Commissioner shall not approve any local school budget whose increase over the total adopted budget for 1975-1976 appears to be exorbitant, unless the local board can demonstrate that said increase is necessary for the maintenance of a thorough and efficient system of education.6 (3) After approval of all local school budgets, but not later than June 30, 1976, the Commissioner shall calculate an “average State school tax rate” by dividing the total of all school budgets for the entire State (reduced by any moneys appropriated by the State Legislature for school aid) by the total equalized assessed valuation of all ratables within the State. The Commissioner shall immediately notify all local tax collectors in the State as to the “average State school tax rate” so calculated. The tax collector for each municipality shall assess an amount equal to the “average State school tax” multiplied by the district’s equalized assessed valuation upon all taxable ratables. Each local tax collector shall then collect and forward all revenues raised in this manner to the State Treasurer who shall distribute them (in conjunction with any funds appropriated by the Legislature) to the local school districts in amounts approved by the Commissioner of Education in order to fully fund each local school budget. (4) The funds appropriated by the Legislature for school aid *172shall be disbursed in accordance with this order and not with any other provision of law. The funds raised pursuant to this order shall be in lieu of revenues raised by any other local property tax scheme for school purposes.
The advantages of this remedy are evident. Robinson V made full funding a prerequisite to sustaining the facial constitutionality of the system of public education enacted under the 1975 Act. Robinson V, supra, 69 N. J. at 467. As the majority itself admits, that system without full funding continues to be invalid. Nevertheless, if the Legislature fails to fully fund the 1975 Act, the majority would avoid the unpleasant but necessary task of assuring needed revenues, and would instead consider the unthinkable option of closing the public schools as a viable alternative. No other course of action could so effectively frustrate the mandate which we have found to be implicit in the Education Clause. The remedy which I propose, by contrast, will assure a level of full funding regardless of a legislative default. By guaranteeing sufficient revenues to fill the gap left by the legislative inaction, this remedy will facilitate, rather than postpone, the long-awaited financial implementation of a constitutional system of public education.
In addition, the remedy which I suggest is a direct response to the basic deficiencies which underlie the current system of financing public schools. See Robinson IV, supra, 69 N. J. at 141; Robinson I, supra, 62 N. J. at 515, 520. Because all districts would derive their revenues from a common, statewide property tax base, it would substantially eliminate the “discordant correlation between the educational needs of the school districts and their respective tax bases” that produces the existing disparities in educational opportunity. Under this order, the resources available to districts would be fully equalized on a per pupil basis. In addition, expenditure levels per pupil would undoubtedly become more equitable as a result.
*173While I recognize that the thought of imposing an additional local property tax burden presents a nightmare,7 I do not believe that the solution to this crisis is to abandon the cause of free public education. Instead, by ordering “equalization” of the entire pool of funds allocated for public education for the 1976-1977 school year, (rather than “equalizing” only those funds for which the State is responsible), I have suggested the most equitable remedy possible. Those districts best able to afford the burden would bear the greatest percentage of its costs. While I realize that hardship might result in individual eases, the remedy which I propose is only intended as a temporary solution, and might be vacated entirely by timely legislative compliance with the constitutional mandate.
Finally, while it is true that final tax bills for 1976 would not be mailed until sometime in July under this remedy, the delay, though unfortunate, is not unprecedented. Such delays often occur during years in which municipalities undergo revaluation of their ratables. Once these revenues are collected, though, distribution of the funds should proceed without much difficulty, since each local school district would receive, upon approval bjr the Commissioner, funds equal to the amounts appropriated in its budget.
The power of this Court to impose such a remedy is clear. As we recognized in Robinson IV, supra:
Under emerging modern concepts as to judicial responsibility to enforce constitutional right there has been no paucity of examples of affirmative judicial action toward such ends. Jackman v. Bodine, 43 N. J. 453 (1964) ; Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Educ., 402 U. S. 1, 91 S. Ct. 1267, 28 L. Ed. 2d 554 (1971) ; Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward County, 377 U. S. 218, 233-34, *17484 S. Ct. 1226, 1234-1235, 12 L. Ed. 2d 256, 266-67 (1964) ; Hawkins v. Shaw, Mississippi, 437 F. 2d 1286 (5th Cir. 1971) ; Kennedy Park Homes Ass’n v. Lackawanna, N. Y., 436 F. 2d 108 (2d Cir. 1970), cert. den. 401 77. S. 1010, 91 S. Ct. 1256, 28 L. Ed. 2d 546 (1971) ; Mills v. Bd. of Educ., 348 F. Supp. 866 (D. D. C. 1972). [69 N. J. at 152]
In particular, where those initially charged with implementing a remedial program have failed to meet their responsibility, courts have undertaken affirmative action and have exercised powers as broad as the inequities to be corrected. Keyes v. School District No. 1, 413 U. S. 189, 212, 93 S. Ct. 2686, 37 L. Ed. 2d 548, 565 (1973); Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Educ., 402 U. S. 1, 15-16, 91 S. Ct. 1267, 28 L. Ed. 2d 554, 566 (1971) ; Newman v. Alabama, 503 F. 2d 1320, 1332-1333 (5 Cir. 1974), cert. den. 421 U. S. 948, 95 S. Ct. 1680, 44 L. Ed. 2d 102 (1975); Hobson v. Hansen, 269 F. Supp. 401, 517 (D. D. C. 1967). This power necessarily includes the authority to require the collection of revenues in cases where protection of a fundamental constitutional right depends on the availability of funds. See, e. g., Boddie v. Connecticut, 401 U. S. 371, 91 S. Ct. 780, 28 L. Ed. 2d 113 (1971); Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward Cty., 377 U. S. 218, 232-234, 84 S. Ct. 1226, 12 L. Ed. 2d 256, 266-267 (1964); Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U. S. 12, 76 S. Ct. 585, 100 L. Ed. 891 (1956) ; United States v. Missouri, 515 F. 2d 1365, 1371-1372 (8 Cir. 1975), cert. den. 423 U. S. 951, 96 S. Ct. 374, 46 L. Ed. 2d 288 (1975); Wyatt v. Stickney, 325 F. Supp. 781, 784-785 (M. D. Ala. 1971), aff'd 344 F. Supp. 373, 377 and 344 F. Supp. 387, 392 (M. D. Ala. 1972), affd sub nom. Wyatt v. Aderholt, 503 F. 2d 1305 (5 Cir. 1974); Brewer v. School Bd. of Norfolk, 456 F. 2d 943, 946-948 (4 Cir. 1972), cert. den. 406 U. S. 933, 92 S. Ct. 1778, 32 L. Ed. 2d 136 (1972) ; Bradley v. Milliken, 345 F. Supp. 914, 938 and cases cited therein (E. D. Mich. 1972) aff'd 484 F. 2d 215, 258 (6 Cir. 1973), rev’d on other grounds and remanded, 418 U. S. 717, 94 S. Ct. 3112, 41 L. Ed. *1752d 1069 (1974). Por example, as the United States Supreme Court stated in Griffin v. School Bd. of Prince Edward County, supra:
[T]he District Court may, if necessary to prevent further racial discrimination, require the Supervisors to exercise the power that is theirs to levy taxes to raise funds adequate to reopen, operate and maintain without racial discrimination a public school system in Prince Edward County .... An order of this kind is within the court’s power if required to assure these petitioners that their constitutional rights will no longer be denied them. [377 U. S. at 233-234; 84 S. Ct. at 1234, 12 L. Ed. 2d at 266-267]
In addition, the particular type of remedy which I suggest for the instant case is not without judicial precedent. In. Jenkins v. Tp. of Morris School District and Bd. of Educ., 58 N. J. 483 (1971), a case which involved an emerging pattern of de facto school segregation, this Court held that the Commissioner of Education could compel a merger of two separate school districts with the attendant merger of their correspondng tax bases, if such action was necessary to further state school desegregation policies. Similarly, in United States v. Missouri, supra, 515 F. 2d 1365, another school desegregation case, the Court held that the District Court possessed the power to order a merger of three adjoining school districts and to compel the subsequent imposition of school property taxes at a uniform rate sufficient to assure operation of the new, consolidated district.
Finally, there are no constitutional impediments to the remedy which I suggest. The Constitution does not prohibit this Court from exercising its equitable powers to reqixire political subdivisions of the State to raise revenues for statutorily or constitutionally mandated purposes. Van Riper v. Bd. of Freeholders, 137 N. J. L. 714 (E. & A. 1948); Hudson Cty. v. Zink, 135 N. J. L. 1 (Sup. Ct. 1935); cf. State v. Rush, 46 N. J. 399 (1966). Such orders do not impinge upon the doctrine of separation of powers, N. J. Const. (1947), Art. Ill, § I, which solely concerns the inter*176relationship of coordinate branches of government. Moreover, such orders do not contravene the Appropriations Clause, N. J. Const. (1947), Art. VIII, § II, par. 2, which applies only to funds “drawn from the State Treasury.”8 In Van Riper v. Bd. of Freeholders, supra, for example, the Court expressly upheld its own power to order such appropriations, though it declined to do so in that case:
Direction might well have been [given] to compel an appropriation of the money necessary to meet the bill and then pay same,, but we are not here concerned with the form of the command. [137 27. J. L. at 716-17]
In another line of cases which involved delinquencies in payment of locally raised county tax or state school tax revenues to the county tax collector, New Jersey courts did; in fact, order the necessary funds to be raised • — ■ by borrowing if necessary • — • to pay the arrearages. Booth v. Parnell, 12 N. J. Misc. 413, 172 A. 50 (Sup. Ct. 1934); Tipping v. Doughtery, 11 N. J. Misc. 931, 169 A. 671 (Sup. Ct. 1933); Shields v. Paterson, 55 N. J. L. 495 (Sup. Ct. 1893); Ross v. Walton, 63 N. J. L. 435 (Sup. Ct. 1899), aff’d, 67 N. J. L. 688 (E. & A. 1901); Trewin v. Shurts, 74 N. J. L. 200 (Sup. Ct. 1906); Coe v. Englewood, 68 N. J. L. 559 (Sup. Ct. 1902); Bayonne v. Kingsland, 41 N. J. L. 368 (E. & A. 1879). If the Court can order the collection of revenues where local taxes are insufficient to meet statutorily mandated costs, then surely it can do so when the funds raised will be insufficient to satisfy a constitutionally mandated expenditure.
In exercising the remedial power to which I have referred, the Court would not be acting as a “super-legislature,” in the sense that it would decide whether particular legislative policies are “unwise, improvident, or out of harmony with a *177particular school of thought.” N. J. Chapt., American Institute of Planners v. N. J. State Bd. of Professional Planners, 48 N. J. 581, 609 (1967). Instead, it would seek compliance by the State with an obligation which is clearly mandated by the Constitution. Pailure to undertake necessary judicial initiative would clearly constitute an abandonment of our own responsibility. See Robinson IV, supra, 69 N. J. at 152. By its action today, the majority not only fails to meet the default of the Legislature and the Executive, but by the relief which it would impose, effectively threatens the continuance of public education in this State.
I regret that I cannot concur in the majority opinion. I shudder at the thought of seeing 1-1/2 million of our school children confronted with closed school doors while they await legislative action. These children are the real pawns in the chess game of Robinson v. Cahill.
It does not matter to the children of New Jersey that the failure to provide the educational opportunities guaranteed by the Constitution is the by-product of deadlock within the coordinate branches of government. However arduous and bona fide those efforts have been, the obligation has not been met by the legislative and executive branches.
The system of educational finance was and is unconstitutional as well as unfair. And the constitutional requirement to comply with the Education Clause — to assure for each child that type of education which our constitution mandates — is perpetual.
I state again ■ — ■ we should not fear unpopularity. Our children must and will receive the necessary education. We identified a profound violation of the Constitution. We have the capacity to take corrective action and remedy the violation. Closing the schools is an abdication of any effort to provide a remedy. This action makes us a party to the very wrong which we denounced last January.
Despite its unpopularity and its overwhelming burden, I believe that I have proposed the only remedy which at this *178time offers the surest, fairest and most equitable means of achieving this essential goal. I therefore must dissent.
For the Order — Chief Justice Hughes, Justices Sullivan, Clifford and Sohreiber and Judge Conford — 5.
Opposed — Justices Mountain and Pashman — 2.

Article VIII, § IV, par. 1 of the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, hereinafter referred to as the “Education Clause,” provides:
The Legislature shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of free public schools for the *167instruction of all the children in the State between the ages of five and eighteen years. [Emphasis supplied]

The two opinions of the trial court are reported at 118 R. J. Super. 223 (Law Div. 1972) and 119 N. J. Super. 40 (Law Div. 1972). The several opinions and orders of this Court are reported at 62 N. J. 473 (1973) (hereinafter “Robinson I”) ; 63 N. J. 196 (1973) (hereinafter “Robinson II”) ; 67 N. J. 35 (1975) (hereinafter “Robinson III”) ; 69 N. J. 133 (1975) (hereinafter “Robinson IV”) ; 69 R. J. 449 (1976) (hereinafter “Robinson V”) ; N. J. (1976) (order to show cause of February 19, 1976, hereinafter “Robinson VI”).

Nothing in that opinion precludes plaintiffs or any other individual or class of individuals adversely affected by this legislation from seeking appropriate judicial relief on the grounds that the 1975 Act as applied has failed to address the deficiencies enumerated in our previous opinions or to fully satisfy the constitutional mandate to which the State is bound. See, e. g., Robinson V, supra, 69 N. J. 449 id., 69 N. J. at 470, 474-475 (Hughes, C. J., concurring). For a detailed description of such potential deficiencies see id., 69 N. J. at 527-556 (Pashman, J., dissenting) and id., 69 N. J. 449-476 (Conford, P. J. A. D., t/a, concurring and dissenting).

Dumbauld, Edward, ed., The Political Writings of Thomas Jefferson, 93-94 (Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis: 1955) containing editorial comment and selected writings; see also Koch, Adrienne, The Philosophy of Thomas Jefferson, 166-69 (Quadrangle Books, Chicago: 1964) ; Brown, Stuart G., ed., We Hold These Truths, 114-16 (Harper & Brother, New York: 1941).

It should be noted that the Court previously rejected this form of relief in RoUnson IV due to its “harmful impact on vital educational programs”:
We have given serious consideration to the idea of enjoining all State aid under the present unconstitutional system. That recourse would simplify the weighty problem of judicial power, as there is a concession by all that the Court may, and ordinarily should, enjoin the administration of a patently unconstitutional plan. But we are convinced that so radical a curtailment of obviously essential State assistance to the school districts and its consequent harmful impact on vital educational programs, even if only for one provisional year, is not justified at this time in the light of all pertinent considerations. [Id., 69 N. J. at 147-48]

These provisions are intended to correct discrepancies in current school budgets which are attributable to the fact that budgetary calculations for some districts were based on the assumption that the 1975 Act would be fully funded, while others were based on the assumption that there would be little or no State aid.

In the real world of 1976, that tax base is already overburdened; further taxes on impoverished urban and local rural communities may result in hardships. This condition exists because of the most oppressive local property tax of almost any state in the nation. New Jersey Tam Policy Comm., Report, Part II, “The Property Tax” 1 (Feb. 23, 1972).

In any event, should there remain a theoretical conflict between the Appropriations Olause and the Education Clause, this Court has held that the latter is controlling for purposes of this litigation. Robinson IV, supra, 69 27. J. at 154.