Abbott
ORG
Abbott
The significance of Mr. Corzine's move was not lost on anyone with a legislative, legal or an educational role in the long-running school-financing lawsuit, Abbott v Burke. At the behest of the court, the state must give 31 so-called Abbott districts, enough financial aid to bring them up to spending levels in the wealthiest districts. But now, with the state facing a deficit of more than $4 billion, Mr. Corzine, a liberal Democrat who took office in January, is asking the Abbott districts to essentially live by the same guidelines now hemming in suburban districts at least until a new school-financing formula can be created.