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Politickernj – Tenure reform, higher-ed reorganization top Senate voting list Thursday…On the voting list at this time are S1455, which calls for reforming the teacher tenure system. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Teresa Ruiz, calls for extending the tenure eligibility period from three years to four years and S600 – A bill establishing a task force to study various issues related to improving special education programs and services for public school students.(GSCS is included in Task Force)
NJ Spotlight 2 articles…1) Interactive Map: Per-Pupil Spending…The typical New Jersey school district spent about $16600 per student on operations and extracurricular activities – as well as the comparative budget totals, and 2) Newark Charters Still Looking for a Home…Newark continues to argue about sharing space with charter schools
The Record - Christie pushes budget, tax cuts
Philadelphia Inquirer - NJ Dem leaders say budget votes will be there
Politickernj – Tenure reform, higher-ed reorganization top Senate voting list Thursday
By Minhaj Hassan | June 19th, 2012 - 4:40pm
TRENTON - The full state Senate will take up the controversial bills of restructuring the state’s Higher Education System and teacher tenure, only a couple of days after they were released from the Senate Budget Committee.
The voting session is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Thursday.
The Higher Education Restructuring Act calls for the following things. They include:
* transferring all but one school that makes up the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey to Rutgers University;
* Rowan University taking over the School of Osteopathic Medicine;
* establishing a governing body for University Hospital, which will remain separate from Rutgers University;
* a separate governing body for Rutgers University-Camden.
The other controversial bill, S1455, calls for reforming the teacher tenure system. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Teresa Ruiz, calls for extending the tenure eligibility period from three years to four years. It also calls for:
*giving principals more influence on what teachers could be in their respective schools;
* revoking tenure if there are two consecutive ineffective evaluations.
*Perhaps the most important part of the bill is the dramatic reduction in time to decide and hear tenure cases.
Some other key bills that will be voted on by the upper house include:
S600 – A bill establishing a task force to study various issues related to improving special education programs and services for public school students.
S945 – A bill requiring certain registration and reporting requirements to prevent tigers from being traded illegally.
S1693 – A bill giving police the authority to inform the president of a public or independent institution of higher education when a student is charged or convicted of certain crimes.
S1928 – This bill removes gift cards from the ranks of escheatable property. The issue came to a head after the state passed a law allowing the government – not the card issuer – to take claim to unspent funds, and companies such as American Express threatened to stop issuing the cards in New Jersey.
S2501 – A bill establishing a new public-private partnership agreement option for construction of state and county college facilities.
NJ Spotlight - Newark Charters Still Looking for a Home…Newark continues to argue about sharing space with charter schools
By John Mooney, June 20, 2012 in Education
More than a year after Newark district schools were roiled by the prospect of sharing space with charter schools, the debate has sparked new community outcry over more outside leases -- and the option of selling three of the public schools to charters outright.
Newark superintendent Cami Anderson wasn’t around for the first fight last year. But at the very end, when newly hired, she helped calm some of the tensions with a scaled-back plan.
This time, though, it is her plan and on her watch, and it could prove a critical test for the superintendent seeking an ambitious reorganization for the district while facing what is emerging as a tough budget crunch.
The topic got a breather last night at the Newark advisory board meeting, when what was expected to be a raucous debate was cooled with the board’s sudden decision to table the discussion.
Seven leases were on the agenda as board resolutions. Each was pulled at the last minute when the votes appeared to fall short of the needed majority.
“We’d like to table them until we are able to have a community dialogue on these items and board members are able to review the leases,” said board member Marques-Aquil Lewis, who made the motion for the postponement.
How long they will be postponed is unclear, with Anderson’s staff saying they likely need to be settled by the end of this month if the charter schools are to get their final approval from the state to open next year.
Lewis indicated he was in no rush, although board president Antoinette Baskerville-Richardson said she would like to get them addressed by June 30. “We will move with all due deliberation to have this resolved as soon as possible,” she said.
What’s at stake depends on the perspective. The leases are a mixed lot. Four of them would involve sharing space in three schools that are seeing dwindling enrollment. They are Burnet Street School, Madison School, and Louise A Spencer School. Such so-called co-location arrangements have been in place this year in six district schools, garnering about $500,000 for the district.
Triggering much of the outcry this time are three deals that call for charter schools to take out long-term leases for three other buildings in their entirety, with options to buy the properties in the near term.
The three schools are Eighteenth Avenue School, Barringer High School’s 9th grade annex, and West Side High School’s annex, all three of which are being closed by Anderson next year as part of her broader consolidation plans.
Administration officials said the leases were critical for the district to address its rising maintenance costs in those buildings, with each of the expected charter operators planning renovations.
Eighteenth Avenue School is one of the district’s oldest, built in the late 1800s, and administration officials said it could cost $15 million to renovate. Those costs instead would be born via economic development bonds planned by the new tenant, TEAM Academy Charter Schools.
Under the terms of the lease, the district would also have the option to retain the building if its enrollment needs changed, officials said. The leases would also require the charter schools to give preference to neighborhood children and those with special needs, they said.
“We are clearly trying to serve the students in the area,” said Photeine Anagnostopoulos, the district’s chief financial officer. “This will benefit everyone.”
She said the district simply cannot afford the renovation bills on all three buildings, with the maintenance costs already topping $50 million. "That’s a pretty steep price to pay, and right now we don’t have access to that type of funding,” Anagnostopoulos said.
At the same meeting, Anagnostopoulos said each of the district’s schools would see six percent cuts in their pupil funding. She said all the leases next year, including the continuing of this year’s co-locations, would bring the district nearly $2 million.
“We will be able to take that cash and put it into buildings where there are 1,000 kids,” Anagnostopoulos said. “That flexibility is important, and something we desperately need.”
“It may not seem like a lot we’re bringing in, but those buildings will get maintained and that’s worth millions,” she said.
Still, there remained questions as to why these schools were singled out and the value of the leases. While officials said they would be leased or sold at market prices, some board members said that needed to be explored further to make sure the district got the best deal it could.
Several officials, as well as audience members last night, said the issue was as much about communication, an issue that arose last year as well and seems to continue to rankle.
“The community feels it is being disrespected, and has not felt they have been engaged as true partners,” said Darrin Sharif, a city councilman for the central Ward, where several of the shared arrangements would be located.
NJ Spotlight - Interactive Map: Per-Pupil Spending…The typical New Jersey school district spent about $16600 per student on ... operations and extracurricular activities – as well as the comparative budget total
, June 20, 2012 in Education|
For chart, go to/copy-paste into your browser: http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0614/1805/
Click on a municipality to see per-pupil spending data for its primary school district and budget revenue sources for 2010-11, as well as the total budget change from 2009-10. Source: N.J. School Report Card 2010-11
Less than $15,000
$15,000 - $15,999
$16,000 - $16,999
$17,000 - $20,000
More than $20,000
The typical New Jersey school district spent about $16,600 per student on education and other costs related to running a school district last year.
Most districts spent less per pupil in 2010-11 than in 2009-10, in part because of tough state-imposed spending caps and aid, according to data from the 2010-11 New Jersey School Report Card issued earlier this month by the state Department of Education.
The state this year changed the way it reported total per-pupil spending to include items not previously calculated, including employee pension contributions. State officials say this paints a more accurate picture of costs, and they have revised prior data to allow for accurate year-to-year calculations.
The New Jersey School Boards Association, however, says it is inappropriate to compare districts using the state’s total calculation because pension costs, special education, transportation and other specialized services can vary wildly among districts and can skew the totals, according to spokesman Frank Belluscio.
The public often uses the annual spending data in the report card to gauge the cost of education in districts.
The map ranks K-12 or K-8 districts by total overall spending. By clicking on a municipality, the data for its primary school district is available. The data include the percentage of a district’s revenues that came from local taxes and state aid last year, and the amount spent per pupil in several key areas -- classroom instruction, support services, administration, operations and extracurricular activities – as well as the comparative budget total, which excludes such items as transportation that not all districts have, and grand total. The percent change in the grand total is given.
Also listed is each district’s district factor group, which is a state measure of socioeconomic wealth with A being the neediest and J being the wealthiest.
To see spending data for regional high school districts, as well as the county vocational and special service districts, click on the accompanying chart here
The Record - Christie pushes budget, tax cuts
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
BY MELISSA HAYES STATE HOUSE BUREAU
There's less than 12 days for the Legislature to approve a budget, cut taxes and adopt a plan to merge the state's universities and colleges, Governor Christie told hundreds of people at Cedar Grove High School on Tuesday morning.
"We've got a $30 billion-plus budget that they haven't even responded to yet," he said. "I put that budget in front of them in February. Priorities that we set forth in January, like tenure reform and reforming the way we deal with people who are drug-addicted in our society, things that you'd think everybody should be able to agree on, that we put in front of them in January — still waiting for them to put bills on my desk."
Christie was hosting his 85th town-hall-style event since taking office and pledged to continue traveling the state pushing his agenda until the end of the month.
The event came just a day after Christie called for increased oversight of the state's halfway houses following a 10-month investigation by The New York Times that highlighted the high number of escapees and problems with gangs, drugs and sexual abuse at the facilities. One article highlighted David Goodell, who was serving parole at a Newark halfway house, and was charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend Viviana Tulli of Garfield, just a few hours after escaping.
Stella Tulli, Viviana's sister, sat in the front row just a few feet from the governor, hoping Christie would talk about the halfway-house issue and take her question. He did not.
Christie reiterated his efforts to provide tax relief and adopt a budget by the end of the month, saying it is "crazy time" in Trenton. And he took questions for an hour from 10 people among the crowd of more than 500 before closing the public portion.
"For those of you who have questions that I didn't get to today, I'm going to be doing a bunch of these all over the place, in this area and other places — 85 of them already and there's no end in sight — because I like getting around to you folks, I like hearing directly from you," he said.
Tulli said after the event that she wanted to ask why it took a newspaper investigation two years after her sister's murder for the governor to call for better oversight of halfway houses and said she would email her question to Christie.
"I'm disappointed he didn't even address the situation of the parole houses," she said.
Tulli said she found out about the event Monday and arrived around 9 a.m. to secure her seat up front. She also said she did not notify the governor's staff in advance that she planned to attend.
Kevin Roberts, a Christie spokesman, said the governor addressed the halfway-house issue in his statement Monday. Roberts added that with the exception of questions from the public, which cover a range of issues, the focus of the event was the state budget and efforts to cut taxes.
Christie applauded the Democrats who are willing to work with him — including Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, who attended Tuesday's event — saying it took bipartisanship to pass a 2 percent cap on local tax levy increases and to enact pension and benefit reforms in an effort to reduce taxes.
Christie now wants a 10 percent, across-the-board income tax cut that would be phased in over four years. It would provide the largest reduction to the state's wealthiest residents. But Democrats say it doesn't do enough to help the middle class and they're reluctant because tax collections have been lower than Christie's initial budget projections.
The Assembly is working on legislation that would increase the income tax rate on earnings over $1 million to boost the state's Homestead credit program, which provides property tax relief to people who meet the income qualifications in the form of a direct credit on local property tax bills.
They also want to create a special property tax relief fund in their version of the budget that would redirect the $183 million Christie set aside for an income tax cut to a new income tax credit for middle-class homeowners. The credit would be given out only if revenue collections met the governor's lofty projections.
Christie said the Democrats have yet to provide promised tax relief during the past eight years.
"Let me give you a hint," he said. "If you all are still waiting by the mailbox, go inside, get yourself a cup of coffee. It ain't coming."
He went on to ridicule the Assembly proposal.
"They'll promise you a tax cut in July for January and they'll pray you forget because when January comes they'll have another set of excuses as to why they can't do it," he said. "If it is left up to them, they will keep more and more of your money to spend on their programs."
The Democrats plan to hold legislative hearings on their budget proposal Thursday, with votes scheduled in both houses Monday.
Email: hayes@northjersey.com
Philadelphia Inquirer - NJ Dem leaders say budget votes will be there
June 20, 2012 byANGELA DELLI SANTI The Associated Press
TRENTON, N.J. - Democrats who chair the New Jersey Legislature's budget committees were confident Tuesday that they've got enough votes to send their $32 billion spending plan to the governor next week. But Republican Gov. Chris Christie complained that their plan delays his tax cut by at least six months.
Sen. Paul Sarlo and Assemblyman Vincent Prieto said most Democrats will support the budget when it reaches the floors of the Senate and the Assembly on Monday, and the plan will be forwarded to the governor without having to reach across the aisle for GOP votes.
"The size of the budget will remain as the governor has indicated he will certify," Sarlo said. "I know in the Senate we have the votes to support this plan."
Prieto was similarly optimistic.
"I see the votes being there," he told The Associated Press.
The budget plan gets its first legislative hearings Thursday. The fiscal year begins July 1.
A year ago, Democrats sent Christie a budget significantly higher than the one he proposed, and he red-lined nearly $1 billion in spending before signing the budget into law.
Christie complained at a town hall in Cedar Grove on Tuesday that Democrats are withholding long-awaited tax relief.
"Here's what they say today," Christie told the crowd. "They say that we don't have enough money to cut your taxes, but we have enough money for not only every government program we already have, but $125 million in additional spending.
"You've been waiting eight years for property tax relief that Jim McGreevey, Dick Codey and Jon Corzine promised you. Let me give you a hint: For all of you who are still waiting by the mailbox, go inside. It ain't coming."
The Democrat-sponsored legislation differs slightly from what Christie proposed in February. The Democrats' budget includes $25 million in nursing home aid, $50 million to restore the Earned Income Tax Credit and $7 million for women's health care centers. In all, Democrats have added roughly $125 million in spending while proposing offsetting cuts in Christie's plan.
"Any additional items that we do add in will be offset with another cut in spending," the Wood-Ridge senator said.
Democrats will also set aside $183 million to fund a tax cut. But they won't release the money unless tax collections improve.
Sarlo and Prieto say Democrats want to give residents a tax break as much as Christie does, but the state's disappointing revenue picture shows it's not affordable now. They say the administration's revenue growth forecast for the coming year is overly optimistic.
Tax collections have lagged behind projections in the current fiscal year, though Christie's May job growth figures show the state's fiscal comeback is on track. The state added 17,600 jobs in May, though many were seasonal or public-employment positions.
Democrats also plan to introduce separate legislation reinstating a surcharge on millionaires. That revenue would go directly to property tax relief.
Christie has vetoed a millionaires' tax twice previously and vowed to do so again.
Associated Press reporter David Porter contributed to this report from Cedar Grove
