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NJ Spotlight--Spelling Out How School Funding Formula Needs to Be Overhauled
New report says so many things have changed since formula was created a decade ago that big adjustments are needed, including more money for special education
It’s been a decade since New Jersey adopted its progressive school funding formula and new data suggest that it’s overdue for an update. Any revision of the formula should direct extra funding toward students with special needs, those in high-poverty communities, and upping teachers’ salaries, according to a new report.
The report, published by the left-leaning think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, says the formula no longer matches requirements that have changed since it was created in 2008.
Carly Sitrin | March 15, 2019
NJ Spotlight--Op-Ed: NJ’s Pensions Are Not Expensive, So Let’s Stop Pretending They Are
The state has to be serious about paying the debt that it owes, and this might require some tough choices
New Jersey has a pension problem.
It’s been a subject of debate for years. The state’s contribution to the pension system seems to increase every year, and the unfunded liability is a mind-boggling amount.
So I wouldn’t blame you if you thought that the system was unaffordable. After all, how can New Jersey continue to plow billions of dollars into this system each year?
But here’s the thing. It’s all a simple bait and switch.
Brian Rock | March 15, 2019
NJ Spotlight--State Budget for 2020: Now It’s the Public’s Turn to Weigh In
Four legislative hearings on Gov. Phil Murphy’s $38.6B spending plan for the coming fiscal year will be held over the next two weeks
John Reitmeyer | March 15, 2019
Star Ledger--Hundreds of kids across N.J. plan to skip school because leaders aren’t addressing climate change
On Friday, kids across the Garden State will skip school for a global cause.
Students in New Jersey, across the United States and around the world have organized “climate strikes” as part of a surging youth effort to push global leaders to take immediate action to address climate change.
Michael Sol Warren | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Updated Mar 14, 4:40 PM; Posted Mar 14, 12:06 PM
Star Ledger: Op-Ed--Caring for babies in public schools would raise taxes, jeopardize 87,000 jobs, child care advocates say
A bill that aims to create child care centers in public schools appears as if it could be an effective use of unused classroom space and generate more money for school districts. But it would actually put tens of thousands of current jobs at risk and reduce the level of care, child care advocates say.
Guy Falzarano| Star-Ledger Guest Columnist| Posted Mar 14, 10:22 AM
Chalkbeat--Who applies and who’s denied? Four things we learned from a new report on America’s charter schools
Fewer “no excuses” and for-profit charter schools are getting the green light to open, according to a report offering a fresh look at the state of the charter school movement.
The analysis comes from the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, which represents the entities that approve and oversee charter schools — usually local school boards, state boards, or universities. The report draws on five years of charter school proposals submitted to most of those authorizers in 19 states and Washington, D.C., looking at what kinds of schools were proposed and which ones got approved.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/posts/us/2019/03/14/charter-school-application-approval-trends-nacsa/
Matt Barnum| March 14, 2019
Education Week--Schools Grapple With Student Depression as Data Show Problem Worsening
Rates of mental-health incidents among teens and young adults have arced upward over the last decade while they’ve remained relatively unchanged for older adults, a new analysis finds.
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/03/14/schools-grapple-with-student-depression-as-data.html
Evie Blad| March 14, 2019 | Corrected: March 14, 2019
