NJSBA ACTS ON SPECIAL ED. FUNDING, STUDENT TURNOVER, TEACHER TRAINING
Delegates Elect Barrington School Board Member to Serve as NJSBA President for 2000-02 

JAMESBURG, May 20, 2000—With local school districts facing growing costs for special education, delegates to the New Jersey School Boards Association today called on the state to provide 100% funding for special education expenses above the amount that districts spend per pupil for regular education. 

Approximately 190 local school board members, representing all 21 New Jersey counties, attended the meeting today in Jamesburg. The delegates’ unanimous action followed consideration of a study by the NJSBA Special Education and School Finance Committees.  That study found that state and federally required out-of-district placements for special education students are straining local school budgets.  In some cases, these costs exceed $200,000 per pupil. 

“School boards recognize their obligation to comply with state and federal requirements to provide appropriate services for special education students,” explained Edwina M. Lee, NJSBA executive director.  “But the reality is that school districts are having an increasingly difficult time meeting these requirements with limited funding.” 

According to the report, the state’s school funding law does not adequately provide for the so-called extraordinary expenses (such as residential costs and travel) that these placements entail.  New Jersey law permits school districts to apply to the state Department of Education for financial relief when extraordinary costs exceed $40,000 per pupil. 

However, the NJSBA study states that the process has frustrated the intent of the finance law by being overly restrictive.  Only one out of five such applications received approval.

The NJSBA committee considered several alternatives to correct the problem of excess costs.  It found that state payment of 100% of special education costs above the school district’s regular education expenditure would be the most equitable way to ease the burden on local budgets and provide necessary services. 

NJSBA has been supporting existing legislation, A-2157 (Bagger, Augustine) and S-1148 (Bark, Allen), which would provide state aid for any special education costs above $40,000.  The Assembly bill is currently in position for a vote by the lower house.  The Senate version of the bill is before that house’s education committee.  NJSBA will continue to strongly back these bills as a major step toward meeting the goal of full state funding for extraordinary special education costs, according to Lee. 

Although supportive of the concept, Jim Logotetis of the Montgomery Township school board asked if seeking full state support for excess special education costs would invite state interference in providing services.  However, Cathy Montcrief of the Lindenwold board, who chaired the study, noted that state regulation and the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act already heavily regulate special education. 

Nanette Harrington of Long Hill Township (Morris County) noted that the proposal would “go a long way” toward addressing property tax relief. 

In other action, the delegates approved the following resolutions:

·         Student Turnover.  (Submitted by the Clayton Board of Education, Gloucester County)  NJSBA will conduct a study of the educational and financial impact of student turnover.  On average, New Jersey teachers find that, by June, different students than those who began school in September fill 15 out of every 100 desks.  In some districts, the student mobility rate is much higher.  The Clayton school board, which has a mobility rate twice as high as the state average, notes that special evaluations and remedial instruction are needed to help students who change schools mid-year. 

·         Teacher Training.  (Submitted by the Bergen County School Boards Association)  NJSBA will seek local school board input into the development of the continuing education plans that, under state regulation, all currently employed teachers will have to undergo.  These regulations provide that Local Professional Development Committees formulate continuing education plans for districts. Membership of the Local Professional Development Committees includes teachers and administrators, but not school board members, who are elected representatives of the community.  (NJSBA received 15 similar resolutions from other local school boards.) 

New Officers.  The delegates elected Patti J. Pawling, a member of the Barrington Board of Education in Camden County to serve as New Jersey School Boards Association president for a two-year term, 2000-02.  Pawling succeeds Charles V. Reilly of Ridgewood as NJSBA president.  Reilly will assume to the position of NJSBA Immediate Past President. 

In addition to electing Pawling as president, the NJSBA delegates selected the following school board members to serve in leadership positions:

·         Vice President for County Activities—Anne M. Thomas, Piscataway.

·         Vice President for Finance—Glenn B. Ewan, Maurice River (Cumberland County).

·         Vice President for Legislation/Resolutions—Edward G. DeMarco, Morris Hills Regional.

**********

The New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of more than 600 local boards of education.  Established more than 80 years ago, NJSBA represents the education and related health and safety interests of New Jersey's 1.2 million public school students and advocates the positions of the state's local school districts.  The Association also provides inservice training and technical assistance to the state's 4,800 local board of education members.  School board members, who serve without compensation, are the largest group of elected and appointed public officials in the state.