NJ Spotlight--Murphy School Aid Plan Keeps Promises, Raises Questions
The numbers aren’t set in stone, but districts have gotten a first look at state aid to public schools
Following up on the broad concepts laid out in his first budget address, Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration yesterday released what are perhaps the most critical details to local communities: his proposed state aid to public school districts.
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/03/16/murphy-school-aid-plan-keeps-promises-raises-questions/
John Mooney | March 16, 2018
NJ Spotlight--Public Gets Say on Budget, but What Matters Most Is Murphy-Sweeney Dialogue
Although Democrats control both the executive and legislative branches of NJ government, fate of first Murphy spending plan remains uncertain
While Democrats now control both the executive and legislative branches after Gov. Phil Murphy’s election last fall, it remains to be seen exactly how this year’s budget process will play out. Most Democratic legislative leaders offered only benign comments on Monday following Murphy’s budget address, and the governor and Senate President Steve Sweeney have thus far had what could be called a testy relationship.
Murphy’s budget has proposed a series of tax hikes to help support a record level of spending, including a millionaires tax on individuals and a restoration of the 7-percent sales tax. Sweeney is advocating a different tax hike — one on corporations — as well as a different school-aid vision.
John Reitmeyer | March 16, 2018
The Record--How Murphy's budget will affect aid in your school district
New Jersey school districts got a first look at their state aid figures for the coming school year on Thursday, two days after Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled his $37.4 billion spending plan.
Every school district in Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Essex counties would get extra aid under the plan, which boosts aid to schools by $283 million, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier.
But the rate of increase ranged widely among districts, with Haworth, Paramus, Franklin Lakes and Mendham getting boosts larger than 15 percent. Others, like Lakeland Regional, Randolph, Leonia and Englewood got increases under 2 percent.
Hannan Adely, Staff Writer, @AdelyReporter Published 3:12 p.m. ET March 15, 2018 | Updated 7:19 p.m. ET March 15, 2018
Asbury Park Press--NJ school aid: Many Shore schools see state money pour in
Just eight months ago, advocates for Jersey Shore public schools squared off against Trenton lawmakers and the departing governor, who threatened to trim school budgets — in some cases by millions of dollars.
Parents, students and taxpayers throughout the state learned Thursday their campaign paid off — in some cases handsomely.
New Gov. Phil Murphy's budget raises state aid to schools by $283 million, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier. Watch the video above to hear our Trenton reporters weigh in on Gov. Murphy's budget address.
Monmouth County schools are set to receive $10.4 million in additional school aid under his proposal this year, a 2.6 percent increase from last year.
https://www.app.com/story/news/education/2018/03/15/nj-school-aid-jersey-shore/428809002/
Amanda Oglesby and Hannan Adely, Asbury Park Press Published 6:21 p.m. ET March 15, 2018 | Updated 6:39 p.m. ET March 15, 2018
New York Times--‘This Is Not a Drill’:11 Students on the Terror of Lockdowns
School gun violence and the terror it creates have riveted America again since a gunman shot and killed 17 last month at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The public outrage has produced a new wave of protests, including walkouts in schools across the country on Wednesday.
But acts of violence aren’t the only source of school terror.
For each heinous attack successfully carried out, there have been many more scores of threats in schools across the country. And while thankfully no one dies because of a threat, fake or foiled attacks can be terrifying, too.
After the Parkland attack, we reached out to students across the country, asking them to tell us about threats their schools have received. We heard from more than 100 teenagers, some describing hiding in dark closets and classrooms, sometimes for hours, as they braced for an attack.
Kelly Virella and Josephine Sedgwick| March 16, 2018
Education Week-- Senators Zero In on Law Enforcement, School Discipline in Hearing on Parkland Shooting
A Senate hearing on the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., last month focused today on law enforcement's role in what led to the death of 17 students and staff, what school officials might have done to head off the shooting, and the next steps lawmakers should take to prevent future school violence.
Republicans who control the Senate Judiciary Committee, which hosted the Wednesday hearing, focused on what they said were multiple failures by law enforcement to neutralize the threat posed by suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, both before and during the incident. But Democrats said the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School highlighted the urgent need for additional gun-control measures. The parent of a Stoneman Douglas student who was murdered, as well as a teacher at the high school, also said there was not a single, simple answer to school violence.
Senators, who held the hearing as students around the country walked out of school to demand new gun-control measures and efforts to prevent school violence, also discussed arming teachers and school discipline policies. In addition, Linda Alathari, chief of the Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center, announced during her testimony that her agency was beginning new research into violence directed specifically at schools by current and former students.
Andrew Ujifusa on March 14, 2018 2:42 PM