The NJSBA Board of Directors met Friday, Nov. 15 at the Association’s headquarters in Trenton.
Action Items: The Board of Directors approved the following action items:
- NJSBA 2018-2019 Annual Audit Report
- Open session minutes of the Sept. 27 Board of Directors meeting
- NJSBA Legislative Committee appointments
Executive Director’s Report Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod provided a report on NJSBA activities and progress toward the goals of the current strategic plan.
- Meeting with New Jersey Education Commissioner – Dr. Feinsod met with Commissioner Repollet, at the commissioner’s invitation, to discuss the NJSBA’s perspective on superintendent compensation and the impact of the elimination of the superintendent salary cap.
- LEE Group – NJSBA has been hosting meetings of the coalition of the majority of the state’s education organizations. The Leadership for Education Excellence, or LEE Group, is taking a proactive role in addressing the tax levy cap. The group has sent a joint letter, signed by all of the LEE Group organization’s leadership, to Gov. Murphy, Senate President Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, and other legislative leaders calling for an adjustment of the 2% tax levy cap to enable school districts to attain the adequate level of spending designated by the state’s school funding law.
- Corporate Support – NJSBA has secured funding, totaling $150,000, from corporate New Jersey for two New Board Member Orientation weekends (Feb. 21 through 23 and March 13 through 15) and next spring’s GPS for Visionary Leadership program (April 24 through 26).
- Workshop 2019 – Workshop was a tremendous success, with more than 9,000 registrants and a record number of training sessions. Thanks to the very successful STEAM Tank Challenge, the outstanding student performances and the Garden State Film Festival, New Jersey’s public school students had a strong presence at the conference. At the Jan. 17 Board of Directors meeting, a more exact report on finances will be provided. Workshop 2019 met all of its financial goals.
- NJSBA Delegate Assembly – The Delegate Assembly was held on Nov. 23, where members approved a proposed addition to NJSBA policy that expressly called for a cap adjustment to allow districts to increase their levies to attain adequacy. Senate President Sweeney was the guest speaker at the event.
- Advocacy – The current legislative session ends on Jan. 13. Some of the legislation that may be considered during the lame duck session addresses health benefits changes (Chapter 78), school lunch programs, the 2% tax levy cap, mental health issues and school safety. The NJSBA Legislative Committee will act on the NJSBA Advocacy Agenda for the upcoming Legislative session at its Dec. 7 meeting. The Advocacy Agenda will be submitted to the Board of Directors for approval at the Jan. 17 meeting.
- 2019-2020 Goals –
- Videoconferencing equipment upgrade – NJSBA’s videoconferencing equipment has been upgraded since the last Board of Directors meeting. The upgraded technology is critical to achieving the creation of the NJSBA Online University, the partnership between the Association and Rutgers Division of Continuing Studies.
- Mental Health Services in the Public Schools –Last month, NJSBA conducted the preliminary roll-out of the task force report, “Building a Foundation for Hope,” and its official release at Workshop. The project has received coverage by National Public Radio, Politico, and NJSpotlight, as well as the Star-Ledger, NJ 101.5, and the Press of Atlantic City. To continue progress on this critical issue, President Mike McClure and Dr. Feinsod agreed to establish an ad hoc committee on health and wellness.
- Basic School Law – The new edition of Basic School Law was officially released at the Workshop School Law Forum on Oct. 24.
Recognition
The Board of Directors recognized two new members, William Kehoe, alternate representing Sussex County, and Rita Martin, alternate representing the Urban Boards Committee.
The Board of Directors also recognized the following out-going members: Gregory Stankiewicz, member representing Mercer County; Judith Dias, alternate representing the County Association Leadership; Sandra Mordecai, member representing Essex County, and Lucy Bloom, member representing Middlesex County.
In addition, the Board of Directors received reports from the president, vice president for county activities, vice president for finance, and vice president for legislation/resolutions.
Information items included legal case summary, Nov. 2019 Delegate Assembly update, NJSBA resolutions submitted to the NJSBA Delegate Assembly, and written reports from the NJSBA president and officers.