It’s hard to overstate the importance of school funding to New Jersey’s future.

The last time such a critical issue was left to a single commission to recommend a solution was in 1947, with epic changes to the state’s constitution at stake.

This time, Senate President Steve Sweeney has proposed a plan for a new State School Funding Fairness Commission to bring the state in line with its landmark School Funding Reform Act.

By next summer, the four-member commission proposed by Sweeney would hold hearings and propose changes to the SFRA that would seek to erase the wide disparities in state aid to schools within five years.

On the table would be line items in state aid protecting some districts more than others, property tax limits that restrict what can be asked of local taxpayers, and a number of other issues.

Once the report is completed, the Legislature would then vote, “yea”or “nay,” no changes allowed.

NJ Spotlight’s editors and reporters sat down with Sweeney on Friday and asked him about how he came up with the plan, and what comes next. The following are excerpts from that exchange:

NJ Spotlight: Why did you choose this path? You have been working on separate legislation for amending the formula yourself, why go with the commission model?

Sweeney: It was being pragmatic and realizing we needed an avenue to get something done. We can throw out numbers and winners and losers [in proposed bills], and what happens? Nothing will get passed because everyone will be protective of those who might lose funding over those who might gain funding … It’s become way out of whack and imbalanced, with $500 million essentially parked in districts that are overfunded.

NJS: No district would say it is overfunded.

Sweeney: I understand that, but take my home county, Gloucester County, where Washington Township is 140 percent of what it should receive under the formula, and the largest district in Kingsway is 65 percent funded. How do I explain to Kingsway that they’re at 65 and Washington is at 140?

NJS: Why the commission model, similar to the one used in military base closings?

Sweeney: Because the Legislature has to vote yes or no.

NJS: It is mostly districts like Jersey City that would take a hit, isn’t it?

Sweeney: I don’t like to focus on Jersey City, because everyone goes to the whole Sweeney vs. Steve Fulop thing. But Camden also loses $10 million and others in my district would lose money. There are also other things we should be looking at like tax abatements and pilots where money is taken away from districts and the state has to step in. There is a fairness issue here … The point is about being fair to everybody.