Local school districts in N.J. got an unhappy surprise yesterday afternoon at 4 pm: an email from the D.O.E. informing them that the State was stiffing them on their April – June 2009 aid payments. That’s right, the payments budgeted for the current school year.

Not to worry. The D.O.E. says that districts can choose to delay pension contributions of an amount equal to the state aid until 2012, or they can find cuts in the current year to compensate for the missed payment.

It’s sort of like child support. A divorced parent and his or her kids is depending on the check issued by the ex-spouse, but – surprise! – the ex changes his or her mind at the last minute and says, “never mind, I’m skipping the next few months. But it’s okay because you get to delay your mortgage payment. You still have to pay your mortgage, and I’m not responsible for the missed payment but we’re still good, right?”

At least the D.O.E. is consistent in its lack of reliability.