The Challenges Facing New Jersey’s Public
Schools
Preface
New Jersey’s schools face
serious challenges that will confront our new Governor during his first year in
office. To provide the state’s
gubernatorial candidates with insight into the goals of our state’s local
boards of education, the New Jersey School Boards Association has prepared the
attached paper, “The Challenges Facing New Jersey’s Public Schools: A
Statement of Beliefs.” Immediate
issues facing education include—
·
Construction—Distribution
of funds under the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act
warrants strong oversight. Nonetheless,
one year after enactment, many eligible projects await funding. The Governor
should ensure that financial assistance under the Act is provided promptly,
while requiring school districts to adhere to long-range planning and facilities
maintenance.
·
Staffing—New
Jersey is facing a shortage of teachers in the fields of special education,
world languages, preschool, technology, and high school math and science.
State government should provide leadership in addressing the shortages.
For example, loan forgiveness and tuition reimbursement programs can
attract recent college graduates into fields experiencing shortages. Our state, however, does not have an across-the-board teacher
shortage. Therefore, an
across-the-board approach, such as a minimum statewide salary, would only divert
resources away from focused, effective strategies.
It would pose high costs—to the state, to local school districts and to
their taxpayers—while providing limited benefit.
·
Standards—New
Jersey is beginning a “sunset” review of the Core Curriculum Content
Standards. Revisions should ensure
that standards are understandable, can be measured and achieved, and are
affordable. State response to
districts unable to meet standards should be technical assistance, not
punishment.
·
Testing—NJSBA
supports a state assessment program that will give educators the information
they need to help students overcome difficulties in meeting standards. Toward that goal, our Association has sought improvements in
the current testing program. These
changes include—replacing the Elementary School Proficiency Assessment with a
nationally norm-referenced test in reading, math and science; providing teachers
with specific, detailed results (“assessment mapping” and “item
analysis”); furnishing results promptly; and limiting test administration
time.
The
Challenges Facing New Jersey’s Public Schools:
A
Statement of Beliefs
September 2001
During
the next four years, public education in New Jersey will face daunting
challenges, including evaluating curriculum standards, measuring student
progress, funding their education and building new schools.
In this paper, the New Jersey School Boards Association summarizes its
beliefs on the role and responsibilities of state government and local school
districts in public education.
The
New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of the state’s local
boards of education. Established by
the Legislature in 1914, NJSBA represents the interests of New Jersey’s public
school students and school districts. It
also provides technical assistance and direct services to local boards of
education and inservice training to the state’s 4,800 local school board
members.
Important
issues facing New Jersey’s schools are listed below.
Building Quality School Leadership
State
Special Education Funding
CEIFA
(State School Funding Act)
New Jersey is entering a critical juncture in determining
goals for its public schools. Five
years after the state Board of Education adopted standards in eight subject
areas, we are beginning the “sunset” review of those regulations.
The result of this review will have an impact on curriculum and
assessment.
Standards.
The New Jersey School Boards Association supports setting standards that
describe our state’s expectations of what students should know and be able to
do by the time they graduate. The
academic results we expect from students should also form the basis of funding
schools. If we want students to
meet standards, school districts must be able to provide the textbooks,
technology, activities, staffing and facilities to get them there.
NJSBA is currently participating in the state Department of
Education’s review of the Core Curriculum Content Standards that were adopted
in 1996. Revisions should
help ensure that New Jersey’s academic standards are understandable, can be
measured and achieved, and are affordable.
In addition, the standards must remain flexible and allow for guidance
from local school officials who deal with their implementation. The state should respond to districts that have difficulty
meeting the standards with technical support, not punishment. [top]
Assessment. NJSBA believes that schools must be able to measure student progress toward the standards. It supports a state assessment program to measure achievement. However, NJSBA seeks changes in the current testing program, so that educators can better help students meet the standards. These changes include:
· Replacing the current fourth-grade Elementary School Proficiency Assessment with a nationally norm-referenced test in reading, math and science.
· Providing teachers with detailed results of individual student performance on the tests (“assessment mapping” and “item analysis”), so schools can develop remedial programs.
· Furnishing results within eight weeks of test, or no later than June 1.
·
Limiting testing time.
The New Jersey School Boards Association is part of a
coalition of statewide education organizations that is exploring ways to assess
student performance beyond standardized testing. [top]
Student Safety.
No child should ever be afraid of attending school. Nor should any child
attend school in an environment that would endanger his or her health and
safety.
NJSBA encourages state support for school district programs
that involve peer mediation and conflict resolution, as well as school-police
liaisons to promote healthy relationships with law enforcement.
In addition, the Association supports the “Gun Free School Zone”
concept and creation of “media literacy” programs to help students
differentiate between violence in the entertainment medium and the impact of
real-life violence.[top]
Early
Childhood Education. Every
child from birth to age eight should have experiences that will enable him to
grow and learn to his potential. The
public schools cannot assume the sole responsibility for development of a
comprehensive system of early childhood education.
Districts, however, can play an important role by providing quality
programs in their schools or through partnerships with other organizations that
offer services for young children and their families.
School boards should be encouraged to provide
pre-kindergarten programs to all eligible three- and four-year-olds.
School districts should develop early childhood units (pre-kindergarten
through grade 3). Boards of education should provide developmentally
appropriate full-day kindergarten programs.
However, any mandate of full-day kindergarten must be accompanied by
state funds to meet the need for necessary additional facilities and staff.
Based on its policies on early childhood education, NJSBA
supported recently enacted legislation creating a Commission on Early Childhood
Education and an Office of Early Childhood Education in the state Department of
Education. This unit will provide
on-going technical assistance, staff training, research information, and
successful program models. NJSBA
also supported the creation of a separate nursery school through grade 3
teaching certificate by the state Board of Education.
The new certificate recognizes the developmentally distinct needs of
young children. Finally, the
Association supported a new statute, which created a two-year eligibility period
for early childhood program aid. The
legislation prevents loss of eligibility for the funding due to temporary shifts
in demographics.[top]
Education improvement and reform are not possible
without stable and effective school leadership. Yet, a serious decrease in the number of qualified persons
interested in serving as superintendents, principals and central office
administrators portends a crisis for our state’s schools.
NJSBA research this summer found that 43% of school
districts statewide changed superintendents during the past two-and-a-half
years. The number of willing
replacements is declining. Consultants
report that 15 years ago, a single ad for a superintendent’s opening would
attract about 100 candidates. Today,
multiple ads might produce 30 candidates, many of whom do not meet the minimum
requirements.
Administrative staffing trends are prompted by several factors:
· New Jersey requires experienced out-of-state administrators to undergo many of the same mentoring, testing and licensing requirements as first-year administrators. This lack of reciprocity discourages all but a few out-of-state administrators from pursuing positions here.
· Many administrators are approaching retirement age. Traditionally, the talent pool for administrative positions has been the teaching staff. Yet, because of advances in their own salaries, many teachers are opting to stay in the classroom. They no longer need to enter administration to advance financially.
·
The superintendent and principal are high-pressure positions.
Unlike teaching positions, they are year round.
Their responsibilities include the management of the education program,
supervision of staff and working effectively with parents, taxpayers, and school
board members. In addition, state
and federal regulations pose massive paperwork and reporting requirements.
Averting a crisis in school
leadership will require study and action. The state should reduce requirements
that deter well-qualified out-of-state administrators from seeking positions
here. It should also foster the
smooth transition of leadership by eliminating pension restrictions that limit
the time interim superintendents can lead districts that are in the process of
recruiting permanent chief school administrators. Local school boards must function as policy-making bodies
that hire and evaluate the superintendent, but which do not interfere in
day-to-day school management.
To promote further study, NJSBA is working with state
school boards associations in the northeast, Citizens for Better Schools (an
advocacy group based in Newark) and statewide organizations representing
superintendents, principals and school business administrators.
An Education Leadership Summit, involving more than 100 New Jersey
government, business and education leaders will result from this effort and will
provide future direction. We urge the Gubernatorial candidates to join in this
dialogue. [top]
Teacher
Supply. New Jersey public
schools do not have an across-the-board
teacher shortage. Nonetheless, many
school districts are encountering difficulty staffing
specific areas, such as special education, high school mathematics and
science, world languages, technology and preschool.
State government can play an important role in encouraging
college graduates to enter the teaching profession. Loan forgiveness and tuition reimbursement are attractive
incentives for recent college graduates who are inclined toward teaching.
The New Jersey School Boards Association supports “Teach New Jersey,
Reach the World,” the state’s new initiative to attract candidates to
preschool positions in the Abbott districts.
Expanding the components of this program to other subject areas and grade
levels in both Abbott and non-Abbott districts could help build an adequate,
qualified teaching force for the future.
Local school boards anticipating staffing difficulties
should negotiate with unions for flexibility in determining first-year salaries.
Such provisions enable school boards to place new staff on the salary
guide at steps that not only reflect candidates’ experience and training, but
also the current job market. In
addition, local school districts should not be prevented from using incentives
such as signing bonuses to attract staff to areas of critical need.
Establishment of a minimum
statewide teacher salary represents an inefficient, ineffective way to attract
teachers to the limited number of fields facing shortages.
It would divert resources away from more effective, focused strategies to
address true areas of shortage. Moreover,
an increase in minimum salary would result in proportionate increases for
more-experienced teachers. Even if
state government funded the minimum-salary increases, communities—through
property taxes—would pay for the proportionate increases demanded by those
teachers whose salaries are above the minimum.
The high cost to the state, to local school districts and to their
taxpayers would not justify the limited benefit. [top]
Professional
Development. Continuing
education for teachers is a vital component of high-quality schools.
However, professional development must be identified through the
teacher’s evaluation and be directly linked to the teacher’s classroom
responsibilities. In
addition, it should not disrupt the educational process by removing the teacher
from the classroom for an extended period of time.
The New Jersey School Boards Association believes that the
Legislature should further define the state’s continuing education requirement
for teachers. Such legislation
would require a direct link between training and classroom responsibilities,
administrative approval of professional development activities during the school
day, and suspension of a teacher’s license for failure to complete the 100
hours of training within five years without good reason. [top]
Sub-Contracting.
School boards must retain the prerogative to subcontract support or
educational services when the interests of the children and fiscal soundness
would be served.
Therefore, NJSBA vigorously opposes efforts to restrict
school boards’ ability to subcontract services. Research by our Association shows that school boards
statewide have saved millions of dollars by subcontracting cafeteria,
transportation and maintenance services. They
have directed these funds to the hiring of instructional staff, the purchase of
technology and textbooks, and property tax relief. Over 90% of school districts that have privatized services
have made accommodations for affected employees. [top]
Tenure/Seniority.
To provide our students with a high-quality education, school
administration must make sound personnel decisions. Current statute and regulation involving seniority and tenure
can prevent school districts from carrying out those decisions.
The New Jersey School Boards Association believes that our
state’s children deserve a public school system that places educational
quality above employee job security. Therefore,
reforming the current system of lifetime tenure should be at the heart of
educational improvement and reform. NJSBA
supports replacement of lifetime tenure for school employees with a system of
renewable contract tenure. Current
seniority regulations also restrict school management’s ability to operate in
the best interests of students. NJSBA
believes that schools should be able to rely on criteria such as teaching
experience and job performance when determining whom they will retain after a
reduction in force. [top]
The average school in New Jersey was built in 1952. Forty-six schools date back to the 1800s. The New Jersey School Boards Association supports the concept of grants and aid for local school construction. In the past, New Jersey’s reliance on property taxes to fund schools has made it difficult for communities to finance school construction needs on their own.
NJSBA supports the Educational Facilities Construction and
Financing Act of 2000, which promises to provide significant support for school
construction projects. These
projects are needed to house a growing student population that resulted from
residential development, increased birthrates, and immigration; to provided
technology and upgraded facilities that will enable students to meet curriculum
standards; and to resolve health and safety problems associated with aging
buildings. The Association believes
that the Governor should ensure that financial assistance under the act is
provided on a timely basis, while requiring school districts to adhere to
long-range planning and facilities maintenance. [top]
Adequately funding public education and reducing the
reliance on property taxes to support schools can be attained through increased
federal support, increased state special education funding, refinement of the
state’s Comprehensive Educational Improvement and Funding Act (CEIFA), and
local cost efficiency.
Federal Support. Federal aid pays 2% to 3.2% of the total cost of public education in New Jersey. This represents the lowest level of federal support among the 50 states. The New Jersey School Boards Association believes the issue warrants serious study by our state’s leaders. An area of immediate attention should be full funding of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Twenty-six years ago, the federal government promised to fully fund IDEA by providing 40% of the cost of educating children with learning disabilities. Since that time, Congress has never provided more than 15%.
State
Special Education Funding. The State of New Jersey provides special
education aid, but school districts’ actual costs far exceed the amount of
state funding. State payment of a
larger share of special education costs would provide substantial property tax
relief.
NJSBA believes that the state
should pay all special education costs per pupil that exceed a district’s cost
per pupil for regular education. As
an interim goal, our Association supports legislation that would provide state
aid for a significant portion of “extraordinary” special education costs,
such as room, board and transportation, which are generally associated with out
of-district placement. In extreme
cases, extraordinary special education costs have topped $200,000 per pupil. [top]
CEIFA.
Currently, 49% of all state aid goes to 30 school districts.
Adjustments to the state’s school funding law should help meet
educational needs in all districts.
Examples of changes to CEIFA that would help school
districts include—
· Recognizing the cost of full-day Kindergarten. Full-day Kindergarten has proven benefits for the future academic success of children. CEIFA should recognize the cost incurred by all districts that offer it. Currently, unless it qualifies for Early Childhood Program Aid, a district operating a full-day program has its state aid calculated on a half-day basis. The change proposed by NJSBA would more accurately reflect the operating costs of full-day Kindergarten in over one-quarter of the state’s school districts.
·
Recognizing the impact of sharp increases in enrollment.
The 10% ceiling in annual growth in state aid should be eliminated.
The ceiling hurts communities that experience sudden, sharp increases in
student enrollment. [top]
Local Cost
Efficiency. School districts have a responsibility to examine their own
financial operations and ensure cost-efficient operation.
· NJSBA believes that sharing of services can help school districts save money in non-instructional areas and direct funds to the education program. NJSBA encourages school districts to share services, such as transportation, special education, and administration. NJSBA supports state grants and aid programs to encourage consolidation of services among school districts and between school districts and municipalities.
· Eighty percent of school budgets go toward salaries and fringe benefits. The Association will continue to train board members and provide assistance to school boards in negotiations.
·
The Association also supports state aid for school district
regionalization studies and changes in education funding statues that will
eliminate financial and tax barriers to regionalization. [top]
The
New Jersey School Boards Association believes public school choice is a viable
concept for communities that have determined it will benefit their students.
Examples include choice among schools in the district (intra-district
choice), charter schools, and inter-district school choice when the school board
has established an agreement with other districts.
NJSBA
believes that any expansion of the state’s current pilot inter-district school
choice program should require the agreement of districts that send students to
schools of choice.
NJSBA seeks changes to the state’s charter school
initiative that would provide direct state funding of charter schools not
operated by local boards. In
addition, NJSBA believes that changes to the Charter School Act are needed to
avoid disruption in staffing when public school teachers leave for employment in
charter schools and then attempt to return to their previous positions.
NJSBA
opposes any choice proposal, such as vouchers or tuition tax credits, that would
provide public funds to non-public schools. [top]
Collective bargaining in the public schools must maintain a balance among employees’ interest to secure fair compensation, students’ interest in a sound education and the public’s interest in cost efficiency. The New Jersey School Boards Association believes that, to balance these interests, certain changes must take place in the current negotiations system. To maintain that balance, other proposals for change must be prevented.
Automatic Increments. A 1996 state Supreme Court decision (Board of Education of
the Township of Neptune v. Neptune Township Education Association) ended a
requirement that school boards give their teachers incremental raises upon the
expiration of three-year agreements even though a new contract had not been
reached. NJSBA had successfully
argued before the court in this matter. The
awarding of increments automatically established an artificial floor from which
unions would negotiate a new settlement and put school boards at a disadvantage.
NJSBA believes that restoring this requirement through legislation, as
proposed by the unions, would place the public’s interest at a disadvantage in
negotiations. [top]
Strike Prevention.
Teacher strikes are not legal in New Jersey. Yet, they take place occasionally. More often, the threat of strikes is used to pressure school
boards into concessions. The New
Jersey School Boards Association believes that state law should prescribe
specific penalties (such as fines) for teachers and their unions that engage in
illegal work stoppages or job actions that disrupt the education program.
Conversely, union proposals to give public school teachers a legislated
right to strike would severely damage educational continuity and would sharply
tilt collective bargaining in favor of employees.
They should be opposed. [top]
Scope of Bargaining.
The New Jersey School Boards Association supports the current scope of
topics that can be determined through collective bargaining in public
employment. Bargaining between
school boards and teachers is currently limited to salary, benefits and working
conditions. It specifically
excludes negotiations over educational policy matters, which are properly
determined by the public’s representatives in open meetings.
Expanding bargaining to include matters such as class-size, curriculum,
and student discipline would place decisions on education policy behind closed
doors and could increase the cost of settlements. [top]
Last, Best Offer. Public employers can implement their last, best offer after negotiations and statutory impasse procedures are fully exhausted. Implementation has occurred less than a dozen times during the 33 years of collective bargaining in New Jersey schools and only under strict standards applied by the Public Employment Relations Commission. The New Jersey School Boards Association supports this concept, which is found in most states’ public sector labor law. Implementation rarely takes place, but its existence helps ensure that both parties negotiate in good faith. [top]