Lawmakers Approve School Funding Plan

NJSBA on Funding Formula: It’s Not Over, by Any Means

State of the State: Governor Calls for Financial Restructuring

Governor Signs Education Bills

Governor Proclaims January 2008 ‘School Board Recognition Month’

School Board Candidate Kits Have Arrived

NJSBA Modifies Attorney Access Schedule

Leadership Courses Offered This Month

Position Available: Accounts Payable/Payroll Bookkeeper

Calendar

Click here for a pdf version of this issue of School Board Notes

In the most significant change in the state’s public education system in years, New Jersey will soon have a new school-funding formula.

The Assembly and Senate passed the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 Monday night in the final hours of the 212th Legislature, meeting Gov. Jon Corzine’s goal of legislative approval in the lame duck session.

The plan—Assembly Bill 500 (Roberts, Vas, Conaway, Chivukula, Buono)—will provide a $530 million increase in school funding statewide for 2008-2009.  Individual districts will receive aid increases ranging from 2 percent to 20 percent.  The legislation will make radical changes in how special education aid is distributed and will recognize the cost of educating poor, or “at risk” students, who attend school in non-Abbott districts.

Squeaks By Acting first, the Assembly passed A-500 by a 41-36 vote, the minimum needed for approval.  The real drama occurred in the Senate.  After statements in opposition by several Democratic Senators who represent Abbott school districts and by Republican leaders, the vote tallied 20-19, one short of the number needed for passage.

What then transpired was three hours of negotiation between the Democratic leadership and some Republican members.  A compromise was reached close to 10 p.m., with a commitment to provide $20 million more in special education funding through separate action at a later date.  The agreement prompted retiring Senators Martha Bark of Burlington County and Joseph Palaia of Monmouth, as well as Sen. Gerald Cardinale of Bergen, to supply the critical votes in favor of the bill.

More Special Ed Funds  It’s not surprising that the agreement centered on special-education funding, a critical issue during the brief time provided for review of the legislation.

The new funding formula will use a hybrid model for distributing special education aid.  Some funds will continue to be provided on a categorical basis (that is, through a per-pupil allotment without regard to community wealth), but other aid will be distributed on a wealth-equalized basis. NJSBA strongly opposes basing special education funding on community wealth.

In addition, the formula eliminates the practice of allotting special education aid according to four tiers that represent varying levels of services.  Instead, it will use a single factor, based on the number of special education students and the average cost of providing services to them statewide.

The financial impact of this single-factor “census-based” approach prompted fears among school districts with large numbers of severely disabled students.  To address those concerns, the administration agreed previously to amend the proposal to allow such districts to apply to the commissioner for additional special education funding.  In another alteration made last week, the legislation calls for completion of an independent study of the impact of the census-based method by June 2010.

In all, the bill approved Monday contains 17 changes from the draft legislation released in late December.  To view the changes to the School Funding Reform Act of 2008, visit the Funding Formula section of NJSBA's Web site.