A Time of Uncertainty/A Year of Achievement
Annual Report 2000-01
Today’s school board
members serve their communities during a period of uncertain finances and
changing expectations. Whether
the challenge at hand involves academic standards, testing, school
construction or negotiations, boards of education need a strong statewide
association to provide training, assistance and advocacy.
That organization is the New Jersey School Boards Association.
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NJSBA = Advocacy |
NJSBA = Direct Assistance
Policy, school law, labor relations
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NJSBA = Information
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NJSBA =
Training
The NJSBA
Board Member Academy
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NJSBA =
Value |
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July 18, 2000 represents a
milestone for the public schools of New Jersey.
That’s when the Governor signed the Educational Facilities Construction
and Financing Act into law. The
$8.6-billion school-construction package will help districts replace and
repair aging facilities during a time of rising enrollment.
Its enactment followed two years of advocacy, study and
information-sharing among NJSBA, other segments of the education community,
the state Legislature and the Administration.
The Act
promises to reduce the debt that communities incur to fund school
construction, thereby placing less of a burden on local taxpayers.
Today, it has had a positive impact on school districts’ ability to
address facility needs and on voter approval of school construction proposals.
At NJSBA’s
urging, the act increased the number of school districts eligible for state
school construction funds. For
the first time, some 240 districts will be able to receive construction
funding. Another 108 districts
will see their state support level increase from less than 25% to at least
40%. All other districts will
receive more in state funding than they were previously eligible to receive.
And, finally, the act will fully finance court-ordered construction of
new schools in New Jersey’s 30 poorest districts.
NJSBA’s work on
the facilities act did not stop with its enactment.
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During 2000-01, the Association conducted workshops to help school officials
learn about the planning, application and approval process.
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NJSBA argued before the Appellate Division against a Constitutional challenge
to the facilities act. And the
Association continues to address the concerns of school boards by serving as
amicus in an appeal of the case, Stop the Debt.com, before the
state Supreme Court.
The Educational Facilities
Construction and Financing Act represents one of the most significant advances
in public education during the past generation. Yet, the legislation
constituted only one part of NJSBA’s advocacy program during 2000-01—a
multi-faceted effort before the state Legislature, the state Board of
Education, Congress and the courts.
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In
March 2001, the Governor signed an NJSBA-supported bill that adjusts school
district budget caps to recognize expenses involved in the opening of new
schools. These costs include new
teaching staff, support staff, materials and equipment, and maintenance.
The legislation will help ensure that these expenses do not negatively
affect existing programs.
·
In
June 2001, legislation accelerated the phase-in of NJ SAVER, a tax-relief
program based on the amount of school property taxes paid.
NJSBA has supported SAVER as a step toward easing the overreliance on
property taxes to support schools by providing direct relief to taxpayers.
·
In
January, the state directed $7.8 million to 43 school districts that
experienced sharp decreases in revenue from the Business Personal Property Tax
paid by the telephone company.
Without NJSBA’s outreach to the Governor’s staff and Department of Treasury,
only municipal governments—and not school districts—would have received
reimbursement.
·
In
November 2002, the Governor signed legislation that establishes a required
level of state funding for charter schools.
The new law will control the mandatory financial support that local
districts must provide to charter schools; it represents an important step
toward NJSBA’s goal of full state funding for charter schools.
·
NJSBA led New Jersey school boards in a concerted effort to move federal
legislation to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Increasing federal support for IDEA is a critical goal in enabling
school districts provide needed, but costly, special education services.
Moreover, shortfalls in the federal government’s commitment to special
education are borne by communities and local property taxpayers.
The situation sometimes results in conflict between regular education
and special education programming.
The proposal to fully fund IDEA has gotten further than ever before in
the current session of Congress.
·
In
March 2001, the Governor signed legislation that allows regional school boards
to give voters ballot information about the exact amount of taxes each
constituent municipality would raise for the proposed regional budget.
The information will give voters a more accurate picture of the
financial impact of the proposed budget on their community.
Other NJSBA-supported bills signed into a law include measures that allow districts to offer fee-based busing for routes not covered by state aid and which create Internet listings of convicted sex offenders.
Advocating the interests
of students and school districts also requires blocking unfavorable proposals
in the Legislature and before regulatory agencies.
·
During the 209th session of the New Jersey State Legislature, NJSBA
successfully held off a union-supported bill that would have severely
restricted school boards’ ability to subcontract services such as cafeteria,
transportation and maintenance. A
1999 NJSBA survey showed that school boards directed $28 million into
classroom programs and property tax relief by subcontracting non-instructional
services. An October 2001 news
conference and a grass-roots communications campaign sent a clear message to
lawmakers: the proposed legislation would prevent school boards from making
decisions that benefit children.
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NJSBA also worked to stop a bill that would have circumvented a 1996 state
Supreme Court decision by requiring school boards to provide incremental
raises to teachers when a new contract had not been reached.
The proposal would have diminished a local school board’s ability to
represent the community’s interest in collective bargaining.
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The Association also joined with business and school management organizations
in opposition to bills that would have required mandated leaves of absence for
employees.
In addition, NJSBA effectively opposed bills that would require daily recitation of the Declaration of Independence, mandate a minimum $40,000 salary for new teachers, and shift the balance of power in collective bargaining toward unions.
Advocacy also takes place
before the courts and other agencies.
During 2000-01, NJSBA intervened or argued as a friend of the court in
close to 10 matters of concern to school boards statewide.
Issues included the constitutionality of the Educational Facilities
Construction and Financing Act (Appellate Division and state Supreme Court);
local school board authority to administer voluntary surveys to students (U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit); and school boards’ authority to
conduct random drug testing of students (Appellate Division).
Often, the most effective
means of obtaining information is to talk directly to the voice of experience.
During 2000-01, New Jersey’s local school board members tapped into NJSBA’s
experience via thousands of phone calls, e-mails and in-district consultation
with their Association’s staff.
As the complexities of
public education increase, so does the need for a local board of education to
work effectively as part of the management team with its chief school
administrator. During 2000-01,
school boards requests for on-site training on a variety of topics—including
board-superintendent relations—increased by more than 35% over the previous
year.
NJSBA’s Field
Service Representatives and Technical Assistance Unit responded to nearly
12,000 inquiries for assistance and information from local school boards
during 2000-01—an 11.5% increase.
Field Service Representatives made more than 640 on-site visits,
helping school boards with self-evaluations, superintendent evaluations,
strategic planning, goal-setting and marketing/public relations.
And they assisted 63 school boards in the search process for new
superintendents. (The Association
typically handles more than half of all such searches statewide.)
NJSBA’s school policy
experts responded to more than 1,000 requests for information.
The Association performed nearly 40 audits of district policy manuals
and worked with 17 districts on updating their policies.
The Policy Clearinghouse added a wide array of samples submitted by
more than five dozen districts.
In addition, staff developed comprehensive policy/information packets
addressing bullying, school violence, commercialism in schools and student
uniforms.
NJSBA’s staff attorneys
responded to thousands inquiries from local school district officials for
legal information on issues, ranging from regionalization and shared services
to the tenure law and school elections.
Association labor
relations experts provided direct consultation on negotiations, as well as
analyses of collective bargaining agreements with suggestions for contract
language and bargaining proposals. Labor relations staff developed more than
100 specialized reports for local school boards on contract data and
negotiations issues. They also
kept local school boards abreast of issues such as continuing education and
mentoring for teachers.
Bill Gates said, “Power
comes not from knowledge kept, but from knowledge shared.”
To help school boards meet the challenges of a changing educational
landscape, NJSBA delivers essential information … in print, in person, and
on-line.
In 2001, NJSBA publications program won the APEX award (Award for Publication Excellence) in the category of “Total Publication Programs.” Sponsored by Communications Concepts, a nationwide business publications organization, the awards program recognizes editorial content, graphic design and overall communications excellence. NJSBA’s submission was one of 5,100 entries.
The Association
also unveiled new and revised publications to help school boards meet their
responsibilities.
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School Ethics Reporter
focuses on changes in the School Ethics Act and related regulations and
decisions.
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Sending/Receiving
Districts: Partners in Education
provides best
practices, as well as sample policy and financial information to help school
boards involved in sending-receiving relationships manage the unique issues of
tuition, contracts and representation.
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Collective Negotiations,
Volume 5 of NJSBA’s “School Board Library” series, underwent a total revision.
The
Negotiations Advisor,
a compendium of articles about labor relations,
was updated.
Meanwhile,
NJSBA’s flagship publication, School
Leader, focused on critical
issues facing the state’s public schools: the Core Curriculum Content
Standards; class ranking of high-school students; the Educational Facilities
Construction and Financing Act; and the state’s continuing education
requirement for teachers.
School Board Notes,
New Jersey’s weekly education news report, served as a primary source
of information about developments in the State House, the nation’s capital,
the courts and the Association.
From preparing new board
members for their responsibilities…to building the leadership skills of
experienced board members…to providing information and training on specialized
areas, such as negotiations, community relations and policy…board member
development remains a core function of the New Jersey School Boards
Association.
The NJSBA Board Member Academy
In April 2001, voters
throughout New Jersey chose candidates to fill 1,573 school-board vacancies.
By statute, first-time board members must undergo training designed by NJSBA.
The Association also offers continuing education that allows board members to
earn credits through the NJSBA Board Member Academy. The Academy Course
Catalog lists 21 training programs in the areas of school law, negotiations,
public relations and school construction. Moreover, 394 of the in-district
visits by NJSBA field staff included training that led to Academy credits.
New Jersey’s 21
county school boards associations continued to serve as vital links between
NJSBA and local boards of education—as well as excellent forums for training.
Of the 144 county school boards associations meetings conducted in
2000-01, 78 awarded Board Member Academy credits.
Board members
who earn 20 credits and complete three years of service receive the
designation of “Certificated Board Member.” During 2000-01, 126 board members
attained this rank—surpassing the previous record of 88 set the previous year.
The increasing number of members seeking Academy training emphasizes the value
that school boards place on inservice education.
NJSBA’s Board
Member Academy also offers the advanced designation of “Master Board Member”
for those who earn at least 40 credits and pass a written exam. Twenty-one
board members attained this rank in 2000-01. Since the inception of the
Academy nine years ago, 93 members have achieved this status.
In 2000-01, 21
boards of education were named “Certified Boards” by the NJSBA Academy.
Provided to individual school boards through specially designed on-site
training, the Board Certification program focuses on mastery of group
processes, such as conflict resolution, board-superintendent relations,
strategic planning, goal setting, self-evaluations and conducting effective
meetings. The 21 newly certified school boards joined 104 school boards that
had earned this honor previously.
The annual conference for
the state’s school board members and school administrators, Workshop attracted
more than 10,800 attendees to the Atlantic City Convention Center in October.
Workshop 2000 featured more than 160 training sessions on topics affecting
school district governance and operations.
In addition, more than 800 exhibitors offered information on services
such as transportation, technology and textbooks.
Major speakers
at Workshop 2000 included Dr. Theodore R. Sizer, founder and chairman of the
Coalition of Essential Schools, who discussed “State Direction, School
Autonomy: What’s Left for School Boards?”
Dr. Michael Usdan, president for the Institute for Educational
Leadership in Washington, D.C., spoke about “Leadership for the 21st
Century.” The closing speaker was
Garrison Keillor, humorist and author.
Never a simple
responsibility, local school board membership will continue to grow in
complexity. So will the
challenges facing our schools—finding quality school leaders, implementing
higher standards, addressing growing enrollments and the need for new
facilities. Governing public
education will require strong, decisive leadership.
During this
period of challenge, NJSBA will pledges to be with its members every step of
the way. The Association is
committed to providing the training, advocacy, information and direct services
that local school boards will need to effectively govern the schools.
Our members can expect services that are increasingly efficient,
technologically up to date, and creative.
That’s the value of membership in the New Jersey School Boards Association.
Click Here for Financial Statements for the Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 2001 and 2000