NJSBA Seeks Regulation Changes

NJSBA Seeks Regulation Changes

NJSBA officials on Monday presented a list of concerns to Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy about proposed regulations that would affect school board training, define “unreasonable expenditures,” orchestrate plans for regionalizing schools, and give sweeping authority to the executive county school superintendents.

The commissioner proposed the 205-pages of regulations to implement aspects of the recently enacted School District Accountability Act, the new school funding formula, and the CORE reform act.

“In general, we note a punitive tone in the proposed travel requirements … due to the past indiscretions of an insignificant number of board members,” Michael Vrancik, NJSBA’s director of governmental relations, said in a letter to the commissioner. He said the travel regulations could have a “chilling effect on training of our unpaid board members, who are charged with the responsibility to see that school districts operate efficiently while ensuring that student achievement continues to improve.”

He also noted in a letter that NJSBA questioned whether the regulations proposed by the state Department of Education “exceed existing statutory authority.”

Commissioner Davy told NJSBA and other education organizations at a meeting on Monday that the regulations were expected to be in place by September at the latest. NJSBA is concerned that some of the regulations could be tacked on as “footnote language” to the state Legislature’s appropriations bill, which needs to be enacted by June 30.

NJSBA will closely monitor the Legislature’s budget deliberations and will continue to work with the commissioner to secure changes to the regulations.