TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie is asking the state Supreme Court to reopen the landmark Abbott v. Burke school funding case and to give the state education chief power to bypass laws and bargaining agreements that protect veteran teachers, the governor's office announced Thursday.

In a legal filing by Attorney General Christopher Porrino, the Christie administration is asking the court to vacate its 2011 order that forbid Christie from slashing funding to the 31 districts represented in the case.

Christie also wants the state education commissioner to have the power to overrule state laws or labor agreements in those districts that he sees as detrimental to students, such as the "last in first out" policy for teacher layoffs.

Christie said increased funding guaranteed to 31 urban and low-income districts under the series of Abbott v. Burke Supreme Court rulings hasn't helped student performance, even though the districts receive a significantly greater percentage of state aid than suburban districts.

Meanwhile, tenure laws and collective bargaining agreements have hindered districts' ability to improve, he said.

"What we know now is, more money alone does not translate into a better education," Christie said. "Better teaching methods, more instruction time and improved educational programs make the difference."

Allowing the status quo to continue would be "criminal," Christie said.

The Education Law Center, which represented the school districts in the Abbott case, said Christie's request has no merit. Nothing has changed since the 2011 court ruling that Christie can't cut funding to the districts, said David Sciarra, executive director.

"The Supreme Court has already rejected the exact request the governor is putting before them today," Sciarra said.

Along with targeting school funding for the former Abbott districts, Christie wants the power to sidestep the state's tenure law and union contracts in those districts.

Christie, who has long feuded with the state's teachers, wants the education commissioner to be able to override negotiated prep time for teachers and restrictions on teacher training time and the length of teachers' school day and year.

"We can no longer tolerate a tenure law that places seniority above effectiveness, or tolerate limits on teaching time that restrict teachers to less than five hours of a seven-hour school day," he said.

The New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, called Christie's actions "a frivolous legal challenge" intended to divert attention from the upcoming trial in the Bridgegate scandal.

"When Chris Christie says he is looking out for the interests of children, he is lying," NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer said. "He's never looked out for anyone's interests but his own."

A series of rulings in the Abbott v. Burke case dating back to 1985 ensured that the 31 districts would receive the "thorough and efficient" system of education that is supposed to be guaranteed by the state Constitution.

The rulings promised those districts adequate school funding, universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-old children and reform of curriculum and instruction.

New Jersey has spent nearly $100 billion in tax revenue on the 31 targeted districts since 1985, Christie said. Per-pupil state aid sent to those districts is now as much as five times more than some other districts, he said.

However, many of the districts have graduation rates below the state average.

"We cannot in good conscience fail another generation of children living in the Garden State's poorest school districts," the governor said.

Earlier this year, Christie suggested a drastic overhaul of school funding that would give every district the same state funding per student. The plan would reallocate millions in state aid from the former Abbott districts in exchange for property tax relief for suburban communities.

But the idea has stalled thus far in the state Legislature. Instead, the Senate on Thursday passed Senate President Stephen Sweeney's resolution to create a commission to study school funding.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.