Legislation introduced Nov. 30 would eliminate unified membership in NJSBA. Sponsored by third district Assemblyman John Burzichelli, A-4297 is not likely to see action during the Legislature’s lame duck session, which concludes on Monday. However, it will be automatically pre-filed with a new bill number for the new legislative session that starts next week.
NJSBA policy, adopted by local school boards through the Delegate Assembly, supports mandatory membership. “The NJSBA believes in mandatory membership of all local boards of education in the New Jersey School Boards Association, as established in the originating statute enacted in 1914,” reads the policy adopted in 1994 and reaffirmed in 2008.
Reasons for Requirement The Association’s delegates have supported mandatory membership for several reasons:
- NJSBA is the only statewide education organization that represents non-employees. Its members, unpaid volunteers, need an association to advocate the interests of their communities and school programs and provide necessary training.
- NJSBA counterbalances the well-financed, powerful NJEA, which benefits from a type of mandated membership: statutory “agency shop” that allows it to assess non-members a fee equivalent to 85% of standard union dues.
- Mandatory membership enables NJSBA to provide services that all districts can afford, no matter their size or budgets. Benefits include on-site services, such as goal-setting, training in superintendent evaluation and NJQSAC, board self-evaluation, conflict resolution and effectively working with the chief school administrator. At no fee, the Association offers on-site labor relations assistance. Its dues provide all members with access to Association attorneys, as well as the Critical Policy Reference Manual.
NJSBA-sponsored programs, such as the Alliance for Competitive Energy Services (ACES), save districts statewide substantially more than their dues. Just one ACES program, cooperative electricity purchasing, will save school districts $36 million over the next two years—almost two and a half times the dues for the same period.
- Boards of education have continual turnover. Experienced school board members generally recognize the value of NJSBA membership. However, new board members might see only the limited savings in non-membership, rather than the financial and educational benefits provided by NJSBA.
Members Govern While statute requires membership, the Association is democratically governed. NJSBA’s dues structure, policies and bylaws are established by its members through the Delegate Assembly.
- The current dues formula ensures that no district pays more than 0.001 (one-tenth of 1 percent) of its current expenses. Average payments statewide are closer to 0.0005 (or one-twentieth of 1 percent) of current expenses.
- For 2009-2010, approximately two-thirds of the state’s school districts experienced dues reductions or level dues. The remainder had increases ranging from $1 to $658. For 2009-2010, average dues were $12,688.
Elimination of mandated dues would have no impact on local school property taxes.
NJSBA has discussed the legislation with Assemblyman Burzichelli and plans to continue dialogue with him.
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