NJ Spotlight--Interactive Map: The High, Low, and In Between of NJ’s Property Taxes

Taxes edged up by less than 1 percent in the past year, the smallest bump in decades, but the dollar amount homeowners actually pay is all over the map

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/19/02/27/interactive-map-the-high-low-and-in-between-of-njs-property-taxes/

 Colleen O'Dea | February 28, 2019

NJ Spotlight--NJ Spotlight Roundtable: Fixing School Water Infrastructure

Schools across New Jersey have tested positive for lead in their drinking water. What can be done to remedy the problem?

Hundreds of schools in New Jersey, including in Newark, have tested positive for lead in their students’ drinking water, raising urgent questions about how to pay for upgrades to make the water permanently safe.

State officials now have $100 million to spend on improving the drinking water infrastructure in schools as part of $500 million in bond funding under the Securing Our Children’s Future Act approved by voters in November 2018.

To spend the money most effectively, officials are considering measures such as:

• Replacing lead service lines and water fountains;
• Installing filters or other technology;
• Concentrating the funding in the school districts most affected by lead in water infrastructure — or spreading the spending evenly across the state.

https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/19/02/27/nj-spotlight-roundtable-fixing-school-water-infrastructure/

NJ Spotlight | February 28, 2019

The Record—Schools Agency Should Be Abolished, Top Democrat Says

After a NorthJersey.com report detailing a restructuring at the Schools Development Authority, the Senate President is pushing a bill to shut it down.

https://www.northjersey.com/get-access/?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.northjersey.com%2Fstory%2Fnews%2Fwatchdog%2F2019%2F02%2F27%2Fafter-hiring-allies-associates-schools-agency-faces-test-future%2F2994625002%2F

Dustin Racioppi, Trenton Bureau| February 28, 2019

Education Week--The Ed. Dept.'s Been Pared Back. Here's What That Means for States

Does push for efficiency leave states in the lurch?

In an online video interview last year, television personality John Stossel drew U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' attention to rows of empty desks as they walked through the Department of Education.

DeVos made it clear she sees a streamlined staff as a feature of her administration, not a bug. She's made it clear to managers that, "If you're going to make a case to hire more people, you better have a really good reason," she said.

That extends to the main office for K-12 policy, charged with overseeing billions ...

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/02/27/the-ed-depts-been-pared-back-heres.html

Alyson Klein | February 26, 2019

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