Brian Lairer on WNYC, and we continue on this Jersey Thursday, as we've been calling them during the election, with our series, 30 issues in 30 days. Issue number 29, it all comes to a

close tomorrow. Public education in New Jersey, specifically the education funding formula,

which sounds wonky but has a lot of implications as an issue in the New Jersey governor's race.

The governor will inherit one of the most expensive and unequal school systems in the country,

and the two candidates vying for the job have different ideas about how to fix it.

Democrat Mike Yusherro wants to double down on tutoring and mental health support, for example,

while rethinking how the state funds schools to make the funding formula more equitable.

We'll explain what equitable might mean in this case.

And Republican Jack Chittarelli says he wants to, quote, get back to basics.

And with another new funding formula, plus a push for charter schools and vouchers, what he

calls a parents' bill of rights.

It's a stark contrast that could reshape how districts are funded to affect how much they learn in

school.

There's a big disparity in various ways between the urban and suburban districts.

That's what a lot of this is about.

And we're going to talk about it with Jesse Gomez,

who covers public education for chalk beat Newark

to walk us through each candidate's funding formula platform

and the implications for actual kids and actual education outcomes.

Hey, Jesse, welcome to WNYC.

Hey, good morning. Thanks for having you, Brian. So listeners, any teachers on your prep period right now or home from school

for any reason who want to call in on this or any parents or any other stakeholders in education?

...