Summary of May 19 Delegate Assembly

Summary of May 19 Delegate Assembly

The NJSBA Annual Delegate Assembly met at the Lakeside Conference Center, Plainsboro, on May 19 to consider one resolution, the recommendations of the Ad Hoc School Funding Reform Committee, and the sunset review of the NJSBA Positions and Policies on Education Manual, Section 5000 (Pupils).

Resolution The Burlington City Board of Education submitted a resolution addressing the imposition of financial restrictions and policies on certain districts due to their designation as “Abbott” and calling for consistent application of state requirements on all school boards.

The delegates approved the resolution with the following substitute policy language:

The NJSBA believes that the School Ethics Act, including the Code of Ethics for School Board Members, as well as related policy models in the Association’s Critical Policy Reference Manual, provide sufficient guidance to prevent nepotism and conflicts of interest in board hiring decisions.
The NJSBA believes that any regulations that govern nepotism and which are applicable to Abbott districts should be adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act and should be identical for all districts.

Committee Report The Ad Hoc School Funding Reform Committee reviewed NJSBA’s Beliefs Concerning a State School Finance System (Manual of Positions and Policies on Education, File Code 3220). It also studied a resolution, referred to it by the Delegate Assembly in November, proposing standards of student achievement as a criterion to receive state aid.

The delegates approved the committee’s recommendation (1) to re-adopt NJSBA’s existing beliefs concerning a State School Finance System, and (2) to add a provision stating that New Jersey’s school finance system should provide children in Abbott districts with fiscal equity.

Sunset Review The delegates also approved the sunset review of all policies classified as Section 5000 (Pupils) of the NJSBA’s Manual of Positions and Policies on Education.

All proposals considered by the delegates are posted on NJSBA's Web site (use the menu in the left column to view documents).