All four joint legislative committees on property tax reform have scheduled meetings for Thursday, Dec. 7.

NJSBA Vice President Eva Nagy and School Finance Chairman Roger Butler were scheduled to testify before the school funding, and the government consolidation and shared services panels.

The Joint Legislative Committee on Government Consolidation and Shared Services was scheduled to discuss bills and expected to vote them out of committee for consideration by each House next week. They include:

A-4/S-42: Creates executive county superintendents, who would absorb many responsibilities of local school boards; implements CORE proposals by Assemblyman Joe Roberts, R-Camden; and moves school board elections from April to November.

A-8/S-49: Establishes a pilot program in state Department of Education for the organization of a county administrative school district.

A-9/S-46: Authorizes individual boards of education to self insure for certain insurance; removes current prohibitions.

Public School Funding The Joint Legislative Committee on Public School Funding Reform was scheduled to take public testimony on its recommendations and bills concerning school district accountability and monitoring, elimination of state mandates, and the reorganizing the state Department of Education.

NJSBA expressed concerns about the state requiring additional administrative burdens on local districts and increasing the state education commissioner’s authority over local districts.