Education Matters Podcast: Dealing with Student Protests as a School District
NJSBA’s Ray Pinney spoke with Marc Zitomer, Esq., a partner at Schenk, Price, Smith, and King LLC, about the legal framework governing student protests: https://youtu.be/weLN4xUZzbc.
School Board Notes – Mar. 10, 2026
Education highlights of Governor Sherrill’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Budget
NJSBA in the News:
More money, less uncertainty in Sherrill’s record school aid pitch
(NJ Spotlight News)
‘Huge benefits’ for almost 600 districts to share services on special education, transportation and more, governor says…“We’re in a tough budget year, so any increase we can get on some of these really important initiatives is going to be appreciated,” said Jonathan Pushman, senior director of advocacy for the New Jersey School Boards Association… For NJSBA Education News anytime, visit the NJSBA website homepage, and scroll down to News and Resources.
Chalkbeat
Newark to open New Media High School as film industry jobs surge in New Jersey
New Jersey, the home of the world’s first film studio, is reasserting its status as the country’s first Hollywood. And Newark educators, students, and industry professionals are getting ready to meet the moment.
MyCentralJersey.com
Somerset Hills and Berkeley Heights voters pass $88M in school bonds – (MSN.com)
Referendums approving bond issues for school improvements passed easily March 10 in two Central Jersey districts.
NJ.com
$48M ‘boondoggle’ set to be killed by NJ gov. ‘Not good enough,’ she says – (MSN.com)
Gov. Mikie Sherrill proposed terminating New Jersey’s controversial $48 million-a-year mental health initiative known as NJ4S — slammed as a “boondoggle” by one former educator — as part of the record $60.7 billion budget proposal she unveiled Tuesday.
NJ Spotlight News
For kids in crisis, Sherrill taps in-school therapy, academic research
Millions of dollars in state budget proposal to teach online safety and combat stress from bullying and social media.
Sherrill to lawmakers: Irked by budget cuts? Show me your ideas In an NJ Spotlight News interview, governor says federal aid can help with some of her agenda, but first that structural deficit needs to go.
Montclair Local
Voter approval of a first Montclair school ballot question seeking to raise $12.6 million appeared more certain Wednesday evening as the gap between “yes” and “no” votes widened to 211 and the number of provisional ballots to be tallied grew, according to unofficial results from the Essex County Clerk’s Office.
Renaissance Middle School to Transition to Pre-K – Montclair Local
Montclair school officials are proposing to repurpose Renaissance at Rand Middle School as a standalone pre-K building beginning in fall 2026 — the first step in what Superintendent Ruth B. Turner described as a broader effort to “right-size” the district.
TAPinto.net
Driscoll Foods will apparently continue to be on the menu at Newark Public Schools, despite the food vendor’s business ties with the Newark immigrant detention center.
Hackensack School Staff Remain: Reduction-in-Force Removed
With nearly 100 Hackensack Public Schools employees expecting to be laid-off by the end of this month, a new update from the Board of Education brings some relief.
Montclair High School Students Stage Massive Walkout and Rally in Protest of ICE
Joining a growing wave of student activism seen in schools across the country, nearly 2,000 students at Montclair High School walked out of class Tuesday morning to protest the tactics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), citing concerns about detentions, deportations, and what organizers described as inhumane conditions.
Flemington-Raritan Seeing Decrease in Student Disciplinary Incidents
The Flemington Raritan School District reported a decrease in overall student disciplinary incidents during the first reporting period of the 2025–2026 school year, even as certain categories – including violence and harassment allegations – saw increases.
Unity Charter School Selected for State’s Inaugural Universal Design for Learning Innovation Network Unity Charter School has been selected as one of only eight school districts across New Jersey to participate in the New Jersey Department of Education’s inaugural Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Innovation Network, a new statewide initiative designed to strengthen inclusive classroom practices and improve learning outcomes for all students.