Welcome to School Board Notes

May 21, 2008 • Vol. XXXI • No. 39

Assembly Passes Bill to Move Board Elections How to Influence Your Legislator Administrative Cost Reduction Bill Passes Assembly Travel Regs and Workshop: NJSBA Receives Clarification, Seeks More Where We Stand with the Accountability Regulations Delegate Assembly Opposes Supermajority On Second Questions New President Calls on Board Members to ‘Set the Record Straight’ Scope of Negotiations Bill Stalled in Committee Inside the State House with NJSBA’s Legislative Days Special Education Week New Board Member Weekend Orientation Conference NJSBA’s First Live WebChat Position Available: Field Service Representative Board of Directors Highlights Calendar Click here for a pdf version of this issue of School Board Notes	Assembly Passes Bill to Move Board Elections A bill that would move school board member elections to November passed the state Assembly on Monday by a vote of 43 to 31, with five abstentions.

	How to Influence Your Legislator With the assembly passage of A-15, the focus moves to the Senate, where Shirley Turner has sponsored a companion bill, S-1861.

	Administrative Cost Reduction Bill Passes Assembly A-10, a bill to limit the per pupil administrative costs of certain districts to 90 percent of the regional administrative costs per pupil for the 2008-2009 school year, easily passed the N.J. Assembly on Monday, May 19.

	Travel Regs and Workshop: NJSBA Receives Clarification, Seeks More In early April, the commissioner of education issued a waiver that will permit local school districts to provide reimbursement for overnight lodging at Workshop 2008. Where We Stand with the Accountability Regulations As of Tuesday, the Department of Education had not yet issued a finalized version of the draft accountability regulations.

	Delegate Assembly Opposes Supermajority On Second Questions NJSBA’s Delegate Assembly on Saturday called for the repeal of a recent law that requires an unprecedented 60-percent supermajority voter approval for additional school-spending ballot questions.

	New President Calls on Board Members to ‘Set the Record Straight’ A 13-year veteran of the South Brunswick Board of Education in Middlesex County was elected as NJSBA’s president at the Delegate Assembly on Saturday in Plainsboro.

	Scope of Negotiations Bill Stalled in Committee A Senate bill that would affect public employee contract negotiations was scheduled to go before the Senate Labor Committee on May 15, but was pulled from the agenda at the request of its sponsor, Senator Jeff Van Drew.

	Inside the State House with NJSBA’s Legislative Days NJSBA’s Legislative Days are in full swing. Legislative Days provide members with opportunities to network with state legislators, observe the legislative process and advocate for their public schools.

	Special Education Week Students, parents and educators from throughout the state gathered at The Midland School in North Branch on Friday, May 16 to celebrate Special Education Week in New Jersey.

	New Board Member Weekend Orientation Conference Newly elected school board members can satisfy their training requirements under the School Ethics Act at the NJSBA Weekend Orientation Conference to be held June 6-8.

	NJSBA’s First Live WebChat In one of his last official events as NJSBA president, Kevin E. Ciak fielded questions about the Association and the challenges school boards face, in a live WebChat on May 12. The Association is planning similar events in the future. Position Available: Field Service Representative NJSBA is looking for a dynamic individual to join the team as the Field Service Representative (FSR) for Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties. Board of Directors Highlights The meeting of NJSBA’s Board of Directors took place on Friday, May 16, 2008 in Wyndham Conference Center in Plainsboro.

	Calendar

	Training Programs and Resources Leadership Conference Browse NJSBA’s Bookstore for the latest publications on school governance Board Member Academy Programs Beautiful, affordable walnut and brass plaques help say "thank you" for a job well done!