S1701 Information

4-16-06 Sunday NY Times Metro Section, front page

4-13-06 'Budget cap puts NJ schools on edge'

3-9-06 Governor speaks to S1701 at town meeting

EMAILNET 3-9-06 to South Jersey districts

COFFEE a coalition of families for excellent education

EMAILNET 3-7-06 S1701 Call to Action at Gov Corzine Public Hearing

12-8-05 GSCS and Educ community testify together for S1701 amendment bills before Assembly Educa Com

1-17-06 Asbury Park Press "Viewpoint" letters on S1701

Op-ed piece written by GSCS Parent Network Regional Representative Kim Newsome published in Monmouth's "Two River Times" July 2005

LINK to the S1701 Law

S1701 Summit Board members' report re GSCS 1-11-08 Board mtg

1-29-06 Asbury Park Press Sunday Front Page Right

1-24-06 Asbury Park Press 'Funding sparks heated debate'

FYI - S1701 impacts on local districts - excerpts from NJSBA spring 2005 survey, released 9-27-05

Posted 1-17-06 December 2005 article from the NewsTranscript of Monmouth County

1-17-06 Asbury Park Press

1-12-06 Asbury Park Press letter to the editor

12-20-05 Star Ledger 'Schools lower the heat and risk a backlash'

Recap on property tax issues and S1701 - GSCS has been requesting legislative help on school budget cost drivers for a number of years - here is one example from summer 2004

12-16-05 Star Ledger Schools may end courtesy busing, tied to S1701 budget stressors

12-16-05 EMAILNET

12-12-05 EMAILNET Bills move out of Assembly Education Committee

5-6-05 EMAILNET Important S1701 meeting in Rumson

UPDATE on 12-8-05 Assembly Education Committee hearing

12-2-05 Hopewell Valley letter to Senate Education Committee Chair Shirley Turner re: school budget amendment bills & S1701

EMAILNET 12-3-05 Heads Up!

11-15-05 EMAILNET

Parent Letter to Senate Education Committee Chair on S1701 and request to move amendment legislation

S1701 EMAILNET Alert 11-28-05

Ridgewood Board of Education member letter to legislators 11-15-05; good example letter with local legislator response

Parent letter to legislators on S1701 and 'stalled status of amendment bills S2329 and S2278'

EMAILNET 11-10-05 UPDATE on STATUS of S1701

10-28-05 EMAILNET S1701 resignation, Gubernatorial election information

AMEND S1701: GRASSROOTS BUMPER MAGNETS now available at the initiation of GSCS Rumson parent and their networking

Readington Forum on School Funding & Meet the Assembly Candidates 11-1-05

Invitation to October 7 Rumson hosts 'Stuff S1701' Party

October 7 Sample Letter for 'Stuff S1701' Party Rumson area. html

Parents in Trenton 9-21-05 Press Conference

Link to The Hub article on Rumson Parent 5-19-05 Meeting Opposing S1701, GSCS and Assemblymen Sean Kean & Steve Coredemus co-hots

Schools will seek Extra Funding

Parents Give Codey an Earful

Courier Post Online

Bill to loosen school budgets altered

Educators urge parents to fight school spending cap

School funding plan gets OK from panel

Legislature Acts to Revamp School Spending Caps

Educators to Argue for Repeal of Cap Law

S1701 One Board Member's Perspective

Moody's Investment Services School Bond Rating Analysis post S1701 passage (pdf)

EMAILNET 7-8-05 GSCS Take on Assembly Passage of A3680

Asbury Park Press-Gannet Bureau 7-2-05 Legislature Passes Aid bill for Districts Near Abbotts

October 13 2004 School Funding and S1701 Meeting hosted by Bergen County school group 'Dollars & Sense

Glen Ridge Schools and Garden State Coalition co-host Dec 9 Meeting 'Public Support for Public Education v. Property Tax Stress' plus a focus on new school funding law S1701

Red Bank Regional High School, Red Bank K-8 Schools, Little Silver, Fair Haven,Rumson-Fair Haven, Rumson K-8, Shrewsbury, and the GArden State Coalition Host December 6, 2004 Forum on the new school funding legislation S1701

Rumson PTA, Monmouth Parents sponsor S1701 meeting, co-hosted by 11th District Assemblyman Sean Kean & the GSCS May 2005

040430EMAILNET Govs PTax Proposal - reaction (Word)

One Board's Example: Glen Ridge Public Schools

Princeton Public Schools education symposium to explore impact of school cap legislation

Real Figures and Sound Facts - A Grassroots Rebuttal to Trenton on S1701

GSCS School Funding and S1701 Power Point - February 2005

EMAILNET 2-21-05 S1701 and A3680 Still Stalled

School Funding Presentation December 2004

12-16-05 EMAILNET

GARDEN STATE COALITION OF SCHOOLS/EMAILNET 12-12-05

www.gscschools.org gscs2000@gmail.com

GSCS quick facts:

· 2 GSCS participated in 2 local districts evening meetings this week: Monday, 12-12-05 at Marlboro and Tuesday 12-13-05 at Metuchen; Senator Ellen Karcher presented at the Marlboro meeting and spoke about how S1701 was rushed through to a vote in June 2004 in just 10 days. She is sponsor of S2278 a bill to amend S1701….Senator Barbara Buono and Assemblyman Patrick Deignan, and the Mayor of Metuchen also addressed the Metuchen audience along with Lynne Strickland of GSCS. Both legislators were supportive of the Metuchen schools and are working to see the heating & fuel caps bill gets signed into law. GSCS Executive Director Strickland noted that GSCS’ main priorities in addition to enlisting Trenton’s help to curb budget cost drivers, such as health benefits, special education, cumbersome mandates, are: the development and implementation of a new school funding that provides stability in budgeting and is fair for all children and communities; course-correcting the negative consequences of S1701; increasing the balance of state support for special education programs; and retooling and restructuring the school construction program. Governor-elect Corzine’s approach to the property tax problem via a special session of the legislature coupled with a citizen’s constitutional convention was also discussed.

· The instability and unpredictability of school budget preparation and support was at the top of both meeting agendas. Parents and community members are very concerned about the negative impacts of S1701, including the heating and fuels costs that are putting some budgets are risk of deficit. Quality education delivery and worries about how to maintain performance at our schools is an overriding issue.

· In the works – a statehouse rally on school construction issues is being planned for December 22, if you are interested in attending please email gscs2000@gmail.com .

FYI - While a combined bill providing for heating and fuel cost waiver moved unanimously out of the Assembly Education Committee last week, and while this bill was tightly written to address Senate concerns, Governor Codey was quoted Wednesday as saying that he would not sign legislation that would provide for heating costs cap waivers even though the state just approved a 24+% rate hike two days ago.

12-15 & 16 -05 News articles of note see www.gscschools.org :
Star Ledger re GSCS President Stu Schnur, Montgomery Schools Superintendent, announces June 2005 retirement; Courier Post on heating costs to skyrocket as Trenton has approved 24+% rate increase; Record article on low passage rate of school bond referenda vote this past Tuesday; Trenton Times article on $100M+ committed to Abbott districts in late June state budget agreement not being paid to those districts yet; Star Ledger editorial on curbing legislative spending.