NEWARK —

About 1,000 students from a half-dozen Newark high schools walked out of class today and gathered on Rutgers-Newark campus to protest deep cuts to the district's budget.

The Newark Students Union planned the rally to sway state legislators to fully fund the city’s schools according to a 2008 funding formula passed by the Legislature, said Jaysen Bazile, a senior at Science Park High School and one of the group’s leaders.

Today’s rally was held not far from where the Assembly Budget Committee was meeting to hear public testimony on education issues.

"We want the Legislature to come out and talk to us and listen to us," Bazile said. "We want the state to follow the school funding formula. That money could really help students here."

Though students at Science Park are thriving, their counterparts at some of the district’s comprehensive high schools, including Barringer and West Side, take classes in dilapidated buildings with outdated text books and too few quality teachers, Bazioe said.

Late last month, Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson said the district faces a $57 million deficit due, in part, to a growing number of students who attend charter schools.

In February, the state Department of Education said Newark would receive roughly the same amount of state aid next year it received last year. However, the Christie administration has not yet restored all the aid that was cut from Newark and other districts in 2010.

2 trchristie HINDASH.JPG

CONNECT WITH US

On mobile or desktop:

• Like The Star-Ledger on Facebook

• Follow @starledger on Twitter

And check out our redesigned mobile site by visiting NJ.com from any mobile browser.

Newark’s public schools have been controlled by the state for the last 18 years.

Christian Moraes, a Newark Students Union member, said students will likely face suspension for walking out of their classes to attend the protest. Students from Arts, Central, Technology, Science Park, University, American History and East Side high schools attended the protest, he said.

Freda Barrow, a district teacher, said she took a personal day to attend the protest so she could see her former students living the values she taught them.

"Perhaps the governor, mayor and superintendent will listen to the children today," she said. "Those politicians always like to say that it’s ‘all about the children,’ so I hope they’re listening to the concerns they’re voicing today."

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Jaysen Bazile's last name.