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P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI |
NEWS RELEASE CONTACT: Frank Belluscio (fbelluscio@njsba.org) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE School Board Efforts Result in More Federal Funds Washington, DC, March 16, 2006—After a deluge of emails, faxes and phone calls from local school board members nationwide—including members of New Jersey’s Federal Relations Network—the U.S. Senate this afternoon passed a measure that will add $7 billion to the federal budget for education and healthcare and will restore the cuts in programs, such as Title I and IDEA, that were made for FY 2006. Amendment 3048 to the FY2007 budget resolution (Sen. Con. Res. 83) will bring funding back to the FY 2005 levels. It was co-sponsored by Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) and 26 other lawmakers, including New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg. Senator Specter noted that funding for education and other programs under the Departments of Health and Human Services and Labor "has been decimated since 2005." "Health and education are the two major capital assets of the country," he stated. "We have gone beneath the muscle, beneath the bone, and into the marrow" with these cuts. For New Jersey schools, which face a sixth consecutive year of inadequate state aid, the increase in federal funding is critical. ********
The New Jersey School Boards Association, a federation of district boards of education, advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education. ###
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