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GARDEN STATE COALITION OF SCHOOLS/GSCS
1-11-08 GSCS FYI
School Funding Formula legislation passes - Aftermath…
On the GSCS homepage today @ www.gscschools.org
GSCS needs your help in compiling information - please let us know what issues your district is confronting under implementation of the new formula
...or what problems you anticipate in continuing to provide quality programs for students. For example, questions to check: Do your enrollment projections match the Department of Education's (DOE) projections for your district? Does your budget match that used by the DOE in calculating your districts local fair share? Email your findings/concerns to GSCS at gscs2000@gmail.com . Thank you.
The January 7 passage of the school funding bill became yesterday's news (but only) for a moment in time when the Governor gave his State-of-the-State Message the next day
...But education advocates and property taxpayers across the state, have more questions than ever. How will the new legislation really affect them, their children's education? The bill moved through Trenton so quickly that issues and confusion over bill requirements still are surfacing....To date the Governor has not signed the bill....The new funding formula -which did not have a broad, consensus support - passed by very slim, non-partisan margins in both houses of the legislature Monday night, the last session day of the lame duck legislature. (Click on More to see the agreement struck Monday night in special education funding that Senators reported helped push the vote to passage of the bill, A500/S4000.)..... Litigation is waiting in the wings.... While noting some positives in the bill, and while achieving some language change that increased special education extraordinary aid, GSCS also still has major concerns on the bill - see homepage below December '07 and January '08, for details. GSCS will focus on amendments in the near future and will publicly report impacts as they emerge. A timeline history of the bill can be found above on the website headline banner.
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1-11-08 Senate and Assembly Budget & Education Committee assignments
The Senate and Assembly Democrats announced this week their committee assignments for the 213th Legislature. Senators Barbara Buono and Shirley Turner will be chairs of the Senate Budget & Approporiations and Senate Education Committees, respectively. Assemblymen Lou Greenwald and Joe Cryan (also State Democratic Committee Chairman) are to chair the Assembly Budget and Assembly Education Committees. Click on More here for full information regarding more Democrat committee assignments to these two committees...
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1-9-08 Who voted Yes and No on A500 & S4000, the school funding bill
Click on More here to find out how your legislator voted on A500/S4000.
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1-9-08 Follow up news re passage of funding bill
PHILADELPHIS INQUIRER: What's next for school formula? With vast implications for a variety of constituencies, Corzine's proposal is likely to face court challenges.
THE RECORD - Ahearn: A good compromise on school funding
TRENTON TIMES - Trenton faces huge school tax increase Group warns of impact from aid formula
NY TIMES - New Jersey Revamps State Aid to Schools
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1-8-08 School Funding Formula bill passes after 3 hour deadlock
STAR LEDGER - Legislature barely approves school-funding bill - Senate refuses to close voting until supporters find 21st 'yes'
PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY - $7.8 billion New Jersey school funding bill barely passes
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1-8-08 School Funding Formula bill passes after 3 hour deadlock
STAR LEDGER - Legislature barely approves school-funding bill - Senate refuses to close voting until supporters find 21st 'yes'
PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY - $7.8 billion New Jersey school funding bill barely passes
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1-6-08 News articles & link to chart on how your district might fare under funding proposal
COPYPASTE this LINK into your browser - nj.com/news/bythenumbers/ and find out how your district might fare under proposed formula......................... STAR LEDGER Sunday 1-6-08, 'Vote is too close to call on school funding measure'
NY TIMES - 1-6-08 ON POLITICS Crucial Year for Corzine 1-4-08 NY TIMES 'Panels Approve New Jersey School Financing Plan'
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1-6-08 Re School Funding legislation S4000, A500
To clarify: While GSCS has concerns on issues in the funding formula legislation that make GSCS lean negative on the legislation, that does not mean GSCS opposes the proposal in its entirety. As GSCS has testified recently, there are concepts in the legislation that GSCS considers positive. It is ‘unified’ in approach; for the first time in recent history enrollments are updated to count real students; aid is forthcoming to many districts that have been stressed fiscally and educationally. But there are also problem points that must be addressed to produce a formula that works into the future and produces a broader base of consensus among districts across New Jersey. Below are some issues that demonstrate some of these issues, using the middle districts as a focus. These issues also impact lower and higher wealth districts. Click on
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