A D V I S O R Y 

EVENT:                      NEW JERSEY SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING                             

ISSUES:                      SPECIAL EDUCATION, TEACHER TRAINING, STUDENT TURNOVER 

DATE/TIME:             SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2000/9:30 A.M. 

LOCATION:              FORSGATE COUNTRY CLUB, JAMESBURG                                 

Representatives of the state’s local boards of education will meet on Saturday, May 20 in Jamesburg. The agenda will include 15 resolutions submitted by local school boards. The delegates will also discuss a report on special education funding and will elect officers to lead the New Jersey School Boards Association for 2000-02. 

Special Education Funding.  An NJSBA study found that state and federally required out-of-district placements for special education students—which, in some cases, can exceed $200,000 per pupil—are straining many local school budgets. New Jersey’s school funding system does not adequately provide for such placements, nor for the “extraordinary” expenses (for example, residential costs) they entail.  On Saturday, the NJSBA delegates will consider a recommendation that the Association seek full state funding for special education costs that exceed the amount a district pays per pupil for regular education.  The study also recommends that the cost of special education not be included in the expenditures covered by the district’s spending growth limitation (or budget cap). 

Continuing Education for Teachers.  The Bergen County School Boards Association is calling for local school board input, at an early stage, in development of the continuing education programs that all teachers will have to undergo.  Specifically, the Bergen group is calling for placement of a local school board member on each district’s “Local Professional Development Committee.”  These local committees are responsible for initial development of the district continuing education plan.  Their membership includes teachers and administrators, but not school board members who are the elected representatives of the community.  (NJSBA has received 15 other resolutions similar to the Bergen proposal.) 

Student Turnover.  On average, New Jersey teachers find that, by June, nearly 15 out of every 100 desks are filled by different students than those who began school in September.  In some districts, the student mobility rate is much higher.  The Clayton Board of Education in Gloucester County has a mobility rate twice as high as the state average.  It is asking NJSBA to seek state funds to help schools provide the evaluations and remedial instruction needed by students who change schools mid-year. 

The Delegate Assembly is the major policy-setting body of NJSBA, a federation of the state’s local boards of education.  Decisions by the delegates determine the positions that NJSBA will take on issues before the state Legislature, state Board of Education, the courts and other government agencies. 

The NJSBA Delegate Assembly will meet on Saturday, May 20, starting at 9:30 a.m., at the Forsgate Country Club, 375 Forsgate Drive (near N.J. Turnpike Exit 8A), tel. 1-732-521-0070.  For additional information, call Frank Belluscio or Mike Yaple at 1-609-278-5202.