Proposed Changes to NJ STARS Unjustifiable

October 28, 2008

Contact: Jason Smith / (609) 693-6700
District 9

Editorial by Senator Chrisopher Connors, Assemblyman Brian Rumpf and Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt

Our state recently took a significant step back, detracting from progress made in terms of making higher education more available, by advancing legislation to limit eligibility standards for hardworking students to receive community college scholarships. This is of serious concern because it is generally acknowledged New Jersey loses many of its brightest students due to the cost of higher education here as compared to other states.

The Assembly Higher Education Committee recently released legislation (A-3373) to limit the NJ STARS program to students graduating in the top 15 percent of their class, rather than the top 20 percent as is current law. Other changes were proposed within the bill as well, but none with such dramatic implications.

For those not familiar with NJ STARS, the program provides scholarships covering tuition and fees for students who attend their community colleges full time. The rationale given for consideration of this legislation was the state’s current fiscal problems. To put it in better perspective, testimony offered during the Committee hearing revealed that about one third of the program’s current enrollees would have been ineligible under these changes. This number is even higher for Ocean County students.

While our Delegation certainly understands the desperate need for government spending controls, shrinking the pool of eligible students to save $3 to $5 million is unjustifiable when considering the excessive funds that are rubber stamped by Trenton for far less worthy expenditures within the state’s $33 billion budget. For this reason, Assemblyman Rumpf, the member of our Delegation who serves on the Assembly Higher Education Committee, was compelled to vote against the measure.

Parents and students struggling with spiraling college costs would be far better served by cuts in more appropriate areas, such as the massive state bureaucratic workforce or pork barrel spending projects. With little effort, the funding needed to maintain NJ STARS at its current level could easily be found through relatively modest cuts in either of these areas of questionable government spending.

It should be duly noted that NJ STARS was established in a year when New Jersey was experiencing a billion-dollar budget shortfall. This means that the program was not instituted when the state was flush with cash, thereby requiring a yearly commitment to dedicate the necessary funding. Nonetheless, the Legislature still felt it a worthwhile investment, a position that has been validated by the number of participating students in this now highly successful program.

The fact of the matter is that given the substantial costs of higher education in our state, the Administration and the Legislative Leadership should have anticipated the high participation rate and planned accordingly with respect to the State Budget. By turning away students that at one time would have qualified for the program, the state brings into question its commitment to higher education and runs the risk of forcing yet more hardworking students, who perhaps planned on staying in New Jersey, to strongly consider other states in pursuit of a college education.

When considering what NJ STARS offers, not only in terms of creating affordable higher education opportunities but a better educated workforce for New Jersey’s future, it is critical that funding be appropriated to sustain this program at its current capacity. Otherwise, what is the point of providing and paying for a world class K-12 education only to see other states’ economies benefit from New Jersey’s best and brightest students?

Link to Post:

http://www.senatenj.com/index.php/district9/proposed-changes-to-nj-stars-unjustifiable/1429