NJSBA on Proposed State Budget: Small Aid Increase Will Not Help Schools, Taxpayers
A proposed 3 percent increase in state aid to public education is encouraging but, after two consecutive years of flat state funding, it cannot avert property tax increases, a New Jersey School Boards Association official told lawmakers last Wednesday during a hearing on the proposed 2004-05 state budget. Get the full story.
Administrative Penalties: Librera Cites 10 Districts
The state Department of Education has notified ten school districts that they would incur state aid cuts unless they reduce administrative spending in their proposed budgets, Commissioner of Education William Librera said at a statewide education forum in Trenton on Friday. Get the full story.
Recollections from 1914–1924
To commemorate NJSBA’s 90th anniversary during 2004, School Board Notes will feature highlights from Association history archives throughout the year. At the beginning of each month, this column will cite decisions and activities that took place during a particular decade. Occasionally we will include an item that relates to world events or education in general to put the specific time period in perspective. We hope you will enjoy this journey through the years, which will help to demonstrate how some things have changed and how some things will always be with us. Get the full story.
New Flexibility for Calculating Participation Rates Under No Child Left Behind
Responding to cries from board members and others from across the country, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige announced new flexibility under No Child Left Behind at the National School Boards Association’s annual conference in Florida. The change concerns the calculation of participation rates—the percentage of enrolled students who participate in an assessment program. Get the full story.
NJSBA Applauds Mandate Commission Findings, Urges Extension of Study
The New Jersey School Boards Association applauded the findings of the Education Mandate Review Study Commission, released last week by Governor McGreevey. At the same time, it urged continuation of the panel’s work into the complex areas of special education, the public vote on school district budgets, and non-public school transportation. Get the full story.
Education by the Numbers
Quick Facts About New Jersey’s Public Schools
To assist the news media in reporting about Governor McGreevey’s Annual Budget Message, the New Jersey School Boards Association released pertinent statistics on New Jersey’s schools. This week’s Education by the Numbers focuses on:
Early Childhood Education Get the full story.
Board Members Earn Certificated Board Member Designation
NJSBA wishes to congratulate the school board members listed below for earning their Certificated Board Member designation through NJSBA’s Board Member Academy. To receive this certification, board members must earn at least 20 credits and attain some credits in all of the following CMB core topic areas: relationships: board/superintendent, board community and board/board; policy; curriculum; school finance; school law; labor relations; and board operations. Once all core areas have been addressed, the balance of credit hours may be earned in any of NJSBA’s training programs that are held throughout the year. See the list.
Training Programs and Resources
Featured in This Week's Edition
2004 Workshop

Consultant Registry

Click here for a pdf version of this issue of School Board Notes.
County School Boards Association Activities

Breakfast meetings, special presentations, and more. See what your county school boards association is doing.
Curriculum Fair and Question and Answer Roundtable Proposals Needed
“Destination...Growth” is the theme of the 2004 Annual Workshop being held in Atlantic City on October 20-22. The New Jersey School Boards Association and its cosponsors, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials, need your help to reach that destination. We are asking you to share your formulas for success. Get the full story.
March 29 Legislative Action

School Attendance NJSBA supported AJR68/SJR25 (Stanley, Mayer, Vas/Turner), which establishes the Task Force to Study Attendance in Public Schools. AJR68 was reported out of the Senate Education Committee and went directly to the Senate floor. It then passed the Senate and was sent to the governor. NJSBA encourages local districts to adopt attendance policies and regulations with clear incentives and sanctions to reduce the amount of time lost through student absenteeism, tardiness and class cutting. We commend the sponsors for their initiative in this important area and appreciate the inclusion of Association representation on the task force.

Budget Break The state Legislature will take its annual April break. The Senate and Assembly Budget & Appropriations Committees will meet during that time to review the governor’s budget proposal and will produce a budget in the form of an annual appropriations bill. The Legislature will reconvene in May. The budget must be signed by July 1. NJSBA will monitor both the Assembly and Senate hearings on the proposed Department of Education budget, as well as other hearings with education components, such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor.

Policy—As a new board member, you discover that you promote change and progress through policymaking. What does that mean and how is it accomplished? Policy, published by NJSBA, can provide some practical guidance in the art of policymaking. Do you need to understand the deliberative process that results in clear, workable and legal policy, or discern the difference between policies and regulations? This publication will walk you through each step and provide definitions along the way.

The board receives its powers to govern directly from the Legislature, and it governs through its policies. This publication defines that role and clarifies the difference between it and the administration’s role as the implementer of board policy. The book describes five ways that relying on policy in decision making can help boards operate effectively and efficiently.

Click here to order this publication, or contact Maryann Wolverton at 1-888-886-5722, ext. 5209, or mwolverton@njsba.org.