P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI

NJSBA: Lawmakers Must Consider Full Toolkit, Consider Special Ed Cap Exception

TRENTON, July 1, 2010 —The executive director of the New Jersey School Boards Association today urged the state Legislature to move expeditiously on reforms that will help local school districts control costs and property taxes.

“There is far too much at stake for the next week to turn into a political standoff,” said Marie S. Bilik, NJSBA executive director. “We are confident that state leaders will begin progress toward needed reforms that will control property taxes while ensuring adequate services. This discussion cannot be limited to the cap issue, but must encompass the entire toolkit proposed by Governor Christie.”

Tax Levy Cap “The New Jersey School Boards Association supports reasonable caps on school tax levies. However, a ‘reasonable cap’ would take into account expenditures that are clearly outside a local school district’s control,” said Bilik.

“In particular, ‘extraordinary’ special education services represent the type of cost increase that is forced on school districts and is totally outside their control,” she explained.

According to NJSBA, these costs reflect student placements that frequently result from court orders based on federal and state requirements.

“A school district has no choice but to provide these services, which sometimes exceed $100,000 per student if a residential facility is involved,” said Bilik. “When a child who receives such services relocates to a community, it could have a significant impact on the school district's finances.”

A 2007 study by NJSBA showed that out-of-district special education placements involve 10 percent of New Jersey’s special education student population, but make up 40 percent of the total cost of special education.

“The long-term solution is adequate special education funding, especially from the federal government,” said Bilik. “But after 35 years, Congress has yet to meet its commitment to fund the federal special education act as intended. Until it does so, local school districts need a cap adjustment to enable them to contend with cost increases for these required services without having to diminish the general education program and other services.”

Bilik noted that a tax levy cap should also recognize the cost increases that school districts encounter as a result of spikes in enrollment and health insurance premium increases, as well as start-up costs for a new school building, such as staffing and classroom/curricular materials.

Broader Changes Needed A tax levy cap, however, is only one part of the toolkit that lawmakers have to consider, according to NJSBA.

“Local school boards can operate within a reasonable cap that is part of broader changes empowering them to control costs through negotiations and personnel administration,” said Bilik.

“The special session should be the start of serious consideration of the Christie Administration’s toolkit that would give local school boards more authority to control costs through collective bargaining and personnel policies.”

NJSBA believes an effective toolkit would include the governor’s proposal to enable a local school board to implement its “last best offer” when contract negotiations are fully exhausted.

“The administration understands the strength this proposal would give local school boards in keeping negotiations on track and result in contracts that balance the educational needs of students and the community’s financial interests,” said Bilik. “Last best offer” is a concept prevalent in public sector labor negotiations throughout the nation. However, it was removed from New Jersey school district negotiations in 2003 as a result of legislation promoted by the state teachers union. Since then, the gap between contract settlements and the inflation rate has widened.”

NJSBA also believes a “toolkit” should include reform of the state’s restrictive tenure laws, which make removal of poor-performing teachers costly and difficult, as well as changes in seniority regulations to allow a district facing layoffs to retain teachers based on performance evaluations, rather than just length of service.

In addition, the Association believes a toolkit should require that state factfinders take into account the community’s ability to pay and the current state of the economy when they issue recommendations to break deadlocked contract negotiations.

“If we are going to succeed at tax reform, these changes should be part of the comprehensive plan; they would enable local school boards to control costs while retaining educational quality,” said Bilik.

The New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of 588 local boards of education and includes 44 charter school associate members. NJSBA advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education.