Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

 
     GSCS Email-Net Archive - Recent and Selected Posting
     GSCS Email-Net 11-16-10
     GSCS News 'Email-Net' Archive, beginning 2009
     6-2-10 RACE TO THE TOP (RTTT) 'NJ STYLE': It is what it is ...but what exactly is it? Race to the Top application is caught in a crossfire of reports - more information and clarity is needed
     3-4-10 GSCS Email-Net: Summit @ Summit Report - A New Day in Trenton?
     2-12-10 Gov Chrisite's Message re Current Yr Deficit
     2-16-10 Email-net March @ Summit at Summit
     1-26-10 GSCS Email-Net Christie Era Begins
     1-20-10 GSCS Heads Up FYI.docx
     1-6-10 GSCS Email-Net Lame Duck Watch
     12-15-09 Email-Net
     11-9-09 GSCS Email-Net: Request to Trustee Districts
     11-6-09 GSCS Email-Net: Important Post-Election Information
     11-5-09 GSCS Email-Net: Election Information - Christie on Education - and Request to Member Districts
     11-3-09 GSCS Email-Net: Today is Election Day - Coverage, more
     10-21-09 GSCS EMAIL-NET: Commissioner Davy to be at GSCS meeting in Atlantic City
     10-15-09 GSCS Email-Net: Compare Corzine-Christie re education
     9-25-09 GSCS EMAIL-NETOn GSCS Radar Screen, Intro Cons. Cntct
     9-14-09 GSCS EMAILNET Welcome 2009-2010
     6-24-09 GSCS EMAILNET Heads Up FYI
     6-22 & 24 (update) - 09 GSCS EMAILNET FYI re bills A4140, A1489, A4142
     6-19-09 a.m. GSCS 'Quick' FYI - State Budget Vote delayed to Thursday, June 25
     6-15-09 GSCS Heads Up FYI
     6-12-09 EMAILNET
     6-4-09 EMAILNET
     5-19-09 Treasurer David Rousseau announces additional round of cuts to Gov's proposed State Budget FY2009-2010
     5-14-09 GSCS Heads Up - State Aid payments to be delayed into next Fiscal Year
     428-09 EMAILNET Abbott & SFRA; DOE before State Budget Committees
     4-17-09 EMAILNET Federal Stimulus Title 1 and IDEA Allocations Announced
     4-2-09 EMAILNET & GSCS FYI for April 2009
     3-27-09 EMAILNET
     3-16-09 EMAILNET
     3-6-09 GSCS March FYI - Trenton & GSCS Happenings & more
     2-23-09 EMAILNET
     2-12-09 EMAILNET GSCS Message for State Budget FY10: STABILITY & FAIRNESS
     1-30-09 EMAILNET Fed Stimulus Proposal, School Vote, Stability & Fairness
     1-24-09 EMAILNET Federal Stimulus proposal - local district impact listing
     1-17-09 GSCS EMAILNET & SCHOOL FUNDING OVERVIEW
     1-17-09 GSCS EMAILNET
     Education excerpts from House Fed Stimulus package in GSCS 1-15-09 Heads Up
     GSCS 1-15-09 'Heads Up' - House Releases its Fed Stimulus Package
     January 2009 GSCS FYI
     1-5-09 EMAILNET Gov Announces Spending Reductions for FY0809 Today
     12-21-08 GSCS EMAILNET - Excerpts
     10-31-08 EMAILNET
     10-17-08 EMAILNET
     9-29-08 GSCS EMAILNET
     9-12-08 GSCS EMAILNET
     7-2-08 EMAILNET FYI
     6-17-08 EMAILNET FYI, State Budget Agreement, School Construction bill moving towards passage
     6-10-08 GSCS EMAILNET FYI Trenton focus
     5-30-08 EMAILNET FYI - GSCS ANNUAL MTG NEWS BRIEFS
     4-16-08 EMAILNETSchool Budget Elections early results
     1-18-07 GSCS EMAILNET FYI
     1-14-08 EMAILNET Governor Corzine Sign funding legisation into law 1-13-08 at Drumthwacket
     1-11-08 EMAILNET Funding legislation passes - Aftermath
     1-4-08 EMAILNET GSCS statement on current funding proposal - leaning negative
     1-3-08 EMAILNET Aid proposal - update & analysis
     12-21-07 EMAILNET - GSCS spots 'Giveback' provision in draft bill - a flip flop?
     12-19-07 Proposed Funding formula - update
     12-12-07 EMAILNET Funding Plan proposal to be released today, no bill yet
     12-7-07 EMAILNET Jt Committees schedule hearing on new school funding plan, Commissioner Davy to present
     12-6-07 EMAILNET Funding bill - emerging issues
     12-1-07 EMAILNET FYI Governor Corzine present new school funding formula concepts
     11-30-07 EMAILNET FYI
     11-13-07 GSCS EMAILNET
     11-6-07 EMAILNET
     10-15-07 GSCS EMAILNET
     10-1-07 GSCS EMAILNET
     071015 EMAILNET
     071001 EMAILNET
     9-21-07 EMAILNET
     7-31-07 EMAILNET Status of School Funding Formula, more
     7-10-07 EMAILNET Includes GSCS ADVOCACY PACKET Need for new school funding formula, more
     6-29-07 EMAILNET Lots of news affeccting your schools and communities
     6-22-07 EMAILNET State Budget Passes last night
     6-14-07 GSCS FYI EMAILNET State Budge FY08 Revisions to State Budget filed today
     6-13-07 GSCS EMAILNET
     5-18-07 EMAILNET School Funding Formula Needed Now
     3-30-07 EMAILNET
     3-21-07 EMAILNET
     3-6-07 EMAILNET State Budget hearings, State Aid, Grassroots activities
     2-22-07 GSCS EMAILNET re Gov's Budget Message
     2-20-07 EMAILNET FYI - AMID joins GSCS
     2-12-07 EMAILNET SCHOOL AID & PROPERTY TAX HELP NEEDED NOW
     2-9-07 GSCS EMAILNET MEMBER FYI on Trenton legislation Action
     1-26-07 EMAILNET TRENTON UPDATE: A4 CORE Plan on Assembly Agenda Monday; A1 The 4% Tax Cap bill not yet introduced but still possible for Assembly agenda 1-29 also
     1-19-07 EMAILNET
     1-2 & 3-07 EMAILNET GSCS Resolution, Fast Track Property Tax bills
     12-15-06 EMAILNET Bills Held!
     11-14-06GSCS FYI EMAILNET - Spec Session Jt Comm Reports due out 11-15-06
     11-11-06 EMAILNET Special Session Legislative Committees report Nov. 14 or 15
     11-7-06 EMAILNET Special Education Categorical aid at risk and more
     10-21-06 EMAILNET Spec Session, press conference, GSCS board mtg inAtl. City
     10-5-06 EMAILNET
     9-22-06 EMAILNET
     9-20-06 EMAILNET Special Session news & testimonies
     9-15-06 EMAILNET Special Session; School Construction Report Released
     9-7-06 EMAILNET Special Session & Trenton Update
     8-31-06 EMAILNET re Sept 5 Jt Comm on Pub Schl Funding mtg
     7-21-06 GSCS QUICKNET
     8-24-06 EMAILNET Special Session Update
     8-18-06 EMAILNET
     8-2-06 EMAILNET Special Session fyi, more
     7-28-06 GSCS 'QUICKNET' direct from Trenton
     7-28-06 GSCS 'QUICKNET' from Trenton on Special Session
     7-27-06 GSCS 'QUICKNET' Property Tax Session info
     7-14-06 EMAILNET
     7-11-06 EMAILNET FYI
     7-7-06 EMAILNET - AGREEMENT ON STATE BUDGET REACHED, impt 'details' still being finalized
     6-29-06 GSCS 'QUICKNET FYI' Update on State Budget for FY 2007
     6-22-06 EMAILNET on the Homepage today
     6-12-06 EMAILNET - Extraordinary Special Education student aid; FY07 Budget 'crunch' is on; news clips
     6-6-06 EMAILNET On the Homepage today
     6-2-06 EMAILNET
     5-16-06 EMAILNET Action in Trenton
     5-10-06 EMAILNET
     5-5-06 EMAILNET
     4-26-06 EMAILNET Member Question 6-8 Rally
     4-24-06 EMAILNET
     4-17-06 EMAILNET
     4-11-06 EMAILNET FYI Hompage...your help requested
     3-29-06 EMAILNET State Budget FY07 Hearings Update
     3-24-06 EMAILNET FYI Update on Gov Corzine's Budget FY07
     3-23-06 EMAILNET Corzine says some Abbotts can raise taxes
     3-22-06 EMAILNET Governor Corzine's Budget Message
     3-10-06 EMAILNET On the Homepage Today
     3-9-06 EMAILNETto South Jersey districts
     3-7-06 Articles on Gov's Budget Summit and School Board members off to Trenton
     3-7-06 EMAILNET S1701 Call to Action at Gov Corzine Public Hearing
     3-3-06 EMAILNET Budget discussions begin in earnest
     3-3-06 EMAILNET Budget Discussions begin in earnest
     3-1-06 EMAILNET State Budget FY07, Health Benefits
     2-1-06 EMAILNET GSCS Advocacy FY07 Budget; On the Homepage Today
     1-19-06 EMAILNET Quick Facts, On the Homepage Today
     1-5-06 EMAILNET Revised: Quick Facts, State Board Legal Committee school funding decision, legislative update
     12-16-05 EMAILNET
     12-12-05 EMAILNET Bills move out of Assembly Education Committee
     12-3-05 EMAILNET Heads Up!
     11-28-05 S1701 EMAILNET Alert
     11-15-05 EMAILNET
     11-10-05 [REISSUE] EMAILNET Update on S1701
     11-8-05 EMAILNET You are invited to December 7 Symposium on School Funding
     11-1-05 EMAILNET More information on Gubernatorial Candidates
     10-28-05 EMAILNET S1701 resignation, Gubernatorial election information
     10-20-14 EMAILNET At the top of the GSCS Home Page Today
     10-14-05 EMAILNET Parent question for Gubernatorial Candidates aired on 101.5 debate, SCC funds, Next Board meeting, press briefing notes
     9-29-05 EMAILNET School Construction Issues
     9-23-05 EMAILNET Follow Up Parents in Trenton Press Conference
     8-30-05 EMAILNET Invitation to Parents in Trenton Press Conference
     9-9-05 EMAILNET
     7-29-05 EMAILNET
     7-14-05 EMAILNET School Aid Inequity & S1701 amendments update
     7-8-05 EMAILNET GSCS Take on the Assembly Passing of A3680Cryan, an S1701 amendment bill
     6-29-05 EMAILNET re State Budget FY06
     EMAILNET 6-24-05 GSCS Positions: State Budget FY06 Issues Need Resolving
     EMAILNET 6-10-05 SchoolConstruction Heads Up
     Read Parent Call to Action Letter
     6-17-05 EMAILNET [2] School Construction continued
     6-17-05 EMAILNET FY06 Budget & Advocay Update, Quick Facts
     EMAILNET 6-10-05 School Construction Funding Heads Up!
     EMAILNET 6-8-05 Annual Meeting Advocacy - FY06 info - Quick Facts - more
     Star Ledger June 3 2005
     Associated Press on Annual Meeting, 6-4-05: In the Homestretch Candidates Talk Education Issues
     GSCS 14th Annual Breakfast Meeting 6-3-05 AGENDA
     EMAILNET 5-27-05FY06 Legislator Budget Question; A451 State Health Benefits Plan Waiver for Dual Spouse Coverage GSCS Supports ....
     5-18-2005
     5-6-05 EMAILNET Rumson S1701 Meeting; Legislative News...More
     4-21-05 Annual Breakfast Meeting June 3 Sign Up
     Emailnet 4-14-05
     4-14-05 EMAILNET
     4-8-2005
     3-29-2005
     3-24-2005
     3-11-2005
     3-1-2005
     2-21-2005
     2-7-2005
     1-27-2005
     1-26-2005
     1-24-2005
     1-14-2005
     1-9-2005
     1-5-2005
     11-30-2004
     11-19-2004
     11-12-2004
     10-29-2004
     10-26-2004
     10-15-2004
     10-14-2004
     10-5-2004
     9-30-04
     9-7-04
     8-30-04
     8-06-04
     7-08-04
     6-29-2004
     2003-2004 School Year Archive
     2002-2003 School Year Archive
EMAILNET 6-8-05 Annual Meeting Advocacy - FY06 info - Quick Facts - more

 
GARDEN STATE COALITION OF SCHOOLS
EMAILNET 6-8-05
210 West State Street
Trenton, N.J. 08608
 
       609 394 2828/fax396 7620  ‘www.gscschools.org’ “gscs2000@gmail.com”
 
Quick Facts:
 
1. “The LEE Group and Garden State Coalition will be again working together to amend S1701.” 
Excerpt from comments made by Richard R.Dorow, Executive Director's Report at the  N.J. Association of School Business Officials End-of the-Year Officers’ meeting

 

2. A3904/S2417 in Assembly Education Committee on Monday June 13: the bill needs to be amended to conform with amendments made by the Senate Education Committee prior to its passing unanimously in the Senate 39-0. It is anticipated that the Committee. Educ. Comm. will move it out of committee so it can be posted for a floor vote very soon.

 

FYI  -  GSCS on-going FY'06 advocacy conversations w/key legislators re: special education aid for regular operating districts is making headway; GSCS is also hearing that Abbott districts may be receiving a boost in aid to meet court-negotiated requirements as well.

 

  • Thank you to then Gubernatorial Primary Candidates Doug Forrester and Bret Schundler who helped to make the GSCS Annual Meeting 6-3-05 Program lively and informative. Senator Corzine was also an invited guest but was unable to attend.
  •  Congratulations to Tuesday's Gubernatorial primary winners Forrester and Corzine.
  • GSCS looks forward to education issues being an integral part of this year's Gubernatorial Campaign.

 

 

At the GSCS 14th Annual Breakfast Meeting on June 3…

 

(See ‘www.gscschools.org’ for more on the Annual meeting, including Good News on NJ Public Schools resource information used by GSCS President Walter Mahler in his report to membership.)

 

GSCS called for…..

 

  1. Trenton to meet the obligation of its own school funding laws by: (1) increasing special education aid to current levels special education and acknowledging current student enrollments at FY ’06 levels; and, (2) updating and fully funding approved applications for ‘extraordinary education aid.’  ‘Extraordinary education aid’ is for special education students that require a program with a base cost that exceeds $40K a year.

 

Specifically, GSCS has been requesting legislators to update count of special education students that have enrolled since FY ‘01-‘02. Special education aid has been held flat since that time, thus any special education students that entered schools after that have been not counted and have not been awarded the per pupil aid to which they were entitled prior to the legislative suspension of the formula. In order to fund the Individual Education Plans [IEPs] for the pupils enrolled since FY 02, the local district must increase local property taxes to support the full cost for such pupils. Property tax levies have increased at an unprecedented rate as a result of state inaction to fund additional program costs in the regular operating districts in N.J.

 

FYI – GSCS has been advocating formally for this already, see EMAILNET 5-18-05/excerpt:

#1 GSCS Steps Up Special Education Aid Advocacy for FY06 [from GSCS Emailnet 5-8-05]

The Department of Education has stated that it would take 91M to fully fund Extraordinary Aid for Special Education this year, approximately 39M more than the 52M in the Governor’s proposed budget. However, this number should actually be less, since the Abbott districts already have their funding needs met in the special education aid category, per Supreme Court order. GSCS is advocating for the State to fund Extraordinary Aid back up to 100% for Regular Operating Districts, as well as to update their special education aid, particularly at the Tier 4 level, to current special education enrollment per district. Funding these at risk students will appropriately recognize that they and their special needs do count; school budgets can be better stabilized through fulfilling this unpredictable funding need; parents will not be pitted against one another.

 

 

  1. A GSCS Parents’ Day in Trenton in the later fall 2005.

 

This year GSCS has participated in over 17 regional meetings throughout the state alone. Primarily, the S1701 law has galvanized communities to meet and find out more about the law and to advocate for amendments. The legislative leadership has balked addressing the advocacy of hundreds of communities throughout the state, as well as thousands of calls, letters and email about S1701 to date. Underscoring parental and community concern is the nagging worry that quality education and local input into schools’ policies are threatened in general. Four years of flat funding the state’s own school funding law also contributes to that impression.

 

The GSCS Parent Network has been revitalized by these issues and continues to hear from clusters of high energy through our state and people make it clear their concern is not going to diminish on this subject over time. Stay Tuned….

 

  1. A new, appropriate name to identify New Jersey’s 540+ regular operating districts.

 

In designating GSCS member districts and others across the state as “Non Abbott,” the state has inadvertently allowed a subtle and diminishing perception to grow for the 540+ regular operating districts. The designation ‘Non Abbott’ needs to be removed from policy and media parlance because it is taking on a life of its own.

 

Why is this a significant issue? The “Non Abbott’ semantic gives symbolic permission to the legislature to distance itself from the objective reality that the Regular Operating Districts have been unfunded for any additional educational program costs that have been incurred since the 2001-02 school year. It is critically important that, in the eyes of the state, the educational needs of children are not further diminished by: (1) legislative action that allows children’s educational needs to be solely determined (funded) by a local district’s fiscal capacity; and, (2) the unintended consequence of labeling the educational needs of children living in districts not designated as Abbott as being of a lower priority to the state than those living in Abbott districts.

 

Abbotts and Regular Operating Districts are linked in many ways. The most important common denominator is acquiring the capacity to deliver high quality education to their students. The two groups also have differences. Those differences need to be understood, by policy-decision makers and by the public at large. Some are:

 

Abbott Districts: 

 

   1. Have a high number of extremely disadvantaged children that live in high-poverty areas.

               2.  Are court-protected.

               3.  Operate under a different funding system than all other districts.

               4.  Are more closely monitored and supervised by the state.

               5. Have their own regulations that include the identification of specific instructional strategies & funding requirements and state staff to implement the requirements.

 

 The 540 + Regular Operating Districts:

 

1.       Include children that bring a broad range of advantages, as well varying degrees and types of disadvantages to the classroom, including, in certain districts, a significant percentage of children with extreme disadvantages.

2.       Are regulated according to state laws that devote minimal attention to strategies and minimal state staffing for implementation.

3.       Basic state aids have been frozen at the levels received in 2001-02 after the legislature suspended the CEIFA funding formula in the FY 03 Appropriations Act.

4.       Have varying degrees of local and state oversight, dependant on their ‘local fair share’ wealth status and proportion of children who receive ‘free and reduced lunch’. However, the ‘local fair share’ has not been updated since CEIFA was suspended for the 2003-03 school year.

5.       Have a uniform set of governance regulations under CEIFA [the state school funding law that has not been implemented since FY02].

 

4.       Disaggregating statewide funding data between Regular Operating Districts and Abbott districts.

This differentiation is needed to promote informed decision-making, particularly in light of the clear differences cited above.

     

 

5. Statewide recognition that parity for Abbott districts with the relatively wealthier I&J  districts has been reached for several years.

 

And, per its Testimony before the Assembly Budget Committee on FY ’06, GSCS reaffirmed: GSCS’ belief that policy-makers retain the notion that suppressing spending in wealthier districts will keep down the cost of funding Abbott. On the contrary, parity aid does not drive the ‘last state aid dollar’ for Abbotts. To reiterate, parity has been reached for several years. Abbotts spend over and above parity via the discretionary aid known as “supplemental” aid [in FY05 called “Discretionary Opportunity Aid”, or DEOA aid]. The Department of Education must approve the amount of supplemental aid an Abbott district receives. Once the aid is determined and received by the district, it becomes part of the district’s base budget for the following year. In addition, if any downward enrollment adjustments are made to parity formula aid during the year, the amount deducted from the parity aid line is simply moved to the supplemental aid line for bookkeeping purposes.

____________________________________________________________

Lynne Strickland

Executive Director

Garden State Coalition of Schools

210 West State Street

Trenton, N.J. 08608

609 394 2828

gscs2000@gmail.com