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New Jersey Makes Impact at NSBA Conference

Thanks to an NJSBA-sponsored resolution, the National School Boards Association this year will seek the expansion of federal impact aid to support the education of all students who reside on federal property.

NJSBA submitted the proposal to the national organization’s delegate assembly, where the resolution received unanimous support last month.

Currently, for a school district to qualify for impact aid, a certain percentage of its enrollment must consist of students who reside on tax-exempt U.S. government properties. As a result, districts that do not meet the benchmark must use local property tax revenue to support the education of such students.

The resolution originated with a proposal by the Lumberton Board of Education.

Delegates to the NSBA meeting considered 13 proposals on issues such as 21st century skills, high school reform, and student health.

New Jersey Force NJSBA’s elected officers had a strong presence at the national association’s delegates meeting.

Newly elected NSBA President Norm Wooten of Alaska, made special mention of New Jersey’s prominence in the national association’s governance during his address to the delegates on April 14 in San Francisco.

NJSBA service to national committees includes: President Kevin E. Ciak nominating committee; Vice President for County Activities Harry J. Delgado, Hispanic Caucus; Vice President for Legislation/Resolutions Eva M. Nagy, Credentials Committee for the national delegates’ meeting; Vice President for Finance John Bulina and Immediate Past President Patti J. Pawling, delegates.

Clinton, de Klerk The delegates’ meeting kicked off NSBA’s annual conference, which provided training and information on a wide range of school governance and federal education issues.

General Session speakers included former President Bill Clinton and former South African President and Nobel laureate F.W. de Klerk. Sandra Day O’Connor, retired Supreme Court justice, delivered a message on video.

NSBA’s immediate past president, Jane Gallucci (right), with her New Jersey counterpart, Patti J. Pawling. Now a resident of Florida, Gallucci previously served as a school board member in Morris County.

NJSBA President Kevin E. Ciak leads the National School Boards Association’s Delegate Assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. At left is Anne Bryant, NSBA executive director.