GSCS quick facts:

2-23-09 S-15 (Buono) up for a vote in the Senate today

S15 Amends the Fiscal Year 2009 appropriation act to implement certain components of the Executive's plan to offset shortfalls in State revenues.

Click on More here to see S-15 (and related pension deferral bills S-14 and A3688)
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2-22-09 'Federal Stimulus Money Still Leaves State in Need'
NY Times - Sunday, February 22, 2009 By DUNSTAN McNICHOL EVEN though more than $6 billion is expected to come to New Jersey under the federal stimulus plan...I wouldn’t pop the Champagne corks yet,” said James W. Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
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2-19-09 Federal stimulus - information re: Education funding in 'State Fiscal Stabilization' part of the package
GOVERNOR CORZINE WILL HAVE DISCRETION IN HOW SOME OF THE FUNDS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED: The Federal stimulus plan includes a State Fiscal Stabilization Fund. Below are the specific numbers that are part of the ‘Fund’. The $39.5 billion and the $8.8 billion pots of money allow those funds to be used for facilities. However, there is not a specific amount set aside for only that purpose, as was included in the original House and Senate bills. So, much of this will be left up to the Governor and his designees to decide how the funds they receive at the State level will be used. State Fiscal Stabilization Fund is $53.6 billion, and includes the following for education: • $39.5 billion to local school districts using existing funding formulas, which can be used for preventing cutbacks, preventing layoffs, school modernization, or other purposes. • $5 billion to states as bonus grants for meeting key performance measures in education. • $8.8 billion to states for high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education and for modernization, renovation and repairs of public school facilities and institutions of higher education facilities.

NJ District listing, Title One & IDEA under federal stimulus law
House Committee on Education and Labor website re Federal Stimulus information School Districts Will Benefit from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Updated 2.13.09) http://edlabor.house.gov/blog/2009/01/school-districts-will-benefit.shtml

New Jersey District-by-District data listing:

http://edlabor.house.gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/NEWJERSEY-20090213-HR1-LEAs.pdf

Click on More below for district data listing
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Assembly Education meeting Agenda for 2-26-09
Includes roundtable discussion on special education regulations (2.7).
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2-18-09 State Board moves on High School Redesign - advocacy helps with some amending of original plan
HIGH SCHOOL REDESIGN – UPDATE: At the 2/18/09 State Board of Education Mtg, the Board voted to move the NJDOE’s secondary reform plans to the proposal stage. This means the proposals will be printed in the NJ Register followed by a 60-day period of public comment. A public testimony session is tentatively scheduled for the April 15 State Board mtg. A final adoption vote would likely take place at the June 17 SBOE mtg.
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2-18-09 Corzine announces more cuts, more deficit
GANNETT STATE BUREAU: 'NJ's deficit up another $1.5B; furloughs planned' Star Ledger - 'With budget crisis worsening, Corzine calls for two-day state worker furlough'
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2-17-09 'IDEA, Title I & Pell Grant funding victory in American Recovery & Investment Act '09
"...The final bill does not include the provision proposed in the Senate version that would have allowed governors to ask the U.S. Secretary of Education to fully waive both the "Supplement not Supplant" and the "Maintenance of Effort" requirements that are built into the federal laws governing and protecting the use of IDEA and Title I federal funds. There is, however, flexibility provided in the final bill governing how stimulus funds can be used for education purposes, as well as provisions in current IDEA law that allow states and local school districts to make the critical decisions to both serve students while protecting school personnel and strengthening budgets..."
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2-17-09 Very Helpful & Informative: More on Federal Stimulus Plan
New York Times - February 17, 2009 For Education Chief, Stimulus Means Power, Money and Risk By SAM DILLON

EDUCATION WEEK Chat Begins: Thursday, Feb. 19, 3 p.m. Eastern time Obama’s Education Plan About This Chat: Join us Thursday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m. Eastern time for a free live chat with federal policy experts. About the Guests: Chester E. Finn Jr., President of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation Thomas Toch, Co-founder and co-director of Education Sector, an independent Washington think tank. Gene Wilhoit, Executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers.

2/17/09 EDUC. WEEK - Stimulus Aid to Schools a Management Challenge
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2-13-09 News articles & more details on the stimulus plan
The Record, The Star Ledger, Plan Details from the Office of Congressman Rush Holt, more
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2-12-09 p.m. Speaker Pelosi Releases Initial Details of Stimulus Package - see Education
Education Provisions • Preventing Teacher Layoffs and Education Cuts by the States o Establishes a $53.6 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, including: -- $40.6 billion to local school districts using existing funding formulas, which can be used for preventing cutbacks, preventing layoffs, school modernization, or other purposes; -- $5 billion to states as bonus grants for meeting key performance measures in education; and -- $8 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education. • Making College More Affordable o Increases the higher education tax credit to a maximum of $2,500. Also makes it available to nearly 4 million low-income students who had not had any access to the higher education tax credit in the past by making it partially refundable. o Increases the maximum Pell Grant by $500, for a maximum of $5,350 in 2009 and $5,550 in 2010. o Adds $200 million to the College Work-Study program. • Investing in Early Childhood Development o Provides $1.1 billion for Early Head Start and $1 billion for Head Start, which provide comprehensive development services to low-income infants and preschool children. o Provides $2 billion for the Child Care Development Block Grant to provide child care services to an additional 300,000 children in low-income families while their parents go to work. • Providing Other Education Investments o Provides $13 billion for Title I grants to help disadvantaged kids reach high academic standards. o Provides $12.2 billion for grants for IDEA (Special Education) to increase the federal share of these costs.
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GSCS MESSAGE TO NJ LEADERS: KEEP IDEA FUNDING WHOLE FOR LOCAL DISTRICT STUDENTS
GSCS' advocacy efforts in recent meetings with state leaders have been directed towards IDEA funding in the proposed stimulus plan. While the plan is still not resolved, IDEA funding for special education remains in both the House and Senate proposals. Students - districts - benefit from the increases that this potential aid would bring to districts. In fact, it brings the federal support of special education nationally up to approximately 38.6% - The federal government getting much nearer its original promise to the state of 40% federal funds for IDEA requirements. Based on a federal formula for state wealth, New Jersey would receive less percentage - somewhere in the lower 20% region - but nonetheless that is a major increase considering New Jersey has only been receiving 11-12% from the federal government. GSCS' message here is that the increases in IDEA funding should stay whole to each district, and that the funding should be forthcoming to local schools as the increase the federal government intends, and that the state should not use these funds to supplant state funding. Let your legislators hear from you directly on this.
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