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NJ Spotlight--Fine Print: OLS Releases Analysis of Christie School Budget
Annual budget report details questions about state aid, more
What it is: The nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services yesterday released its separate budget analysis of the state Department of Education’s spending proposal for fiscal 2018. The release of the report coincides with the department’s appearance before the state Assembly’s budget committee.
What it means: The OLS analysis — conducted for every state department and released as each comes before the Legislature — is closely watched, especially for the education budget, which makes up a third of the state’s overall spending plan for the year. The analysis comes in two parts: one detailing major spending or language changes in the governor’s budget, the other posing specific “discussion
John Mooney | April 25, 2017
NJ Spotlight--Parents Let Lawmakers Know They’re Unhappy with School Funding
As they sat and listened to legislators and education officials debate state aid for New Jersey’s schools, parents made their presence felt
Parents made their presence felt at a hearing of the Assembly budget committee in Trenton yesterday where the contentious issue of school funding was up for discussion.
The parents were mostly from school districts that believe they are being shortchanged by the state’s school funding formula, which allows dozens of districts to get more state aid than they should and hundreds to get less.
NJTV News Online | April 25, 2017
Star Ledger--These are N.J.'s top 25 high schools, U.S. News says
TRENTON — U.S. News and World Report released its annual ranking of America's best high schools Tuesday, and 25 New Jersey schools made the top 500, including three in the top 100.
High Technology High School in Monmouth County, a small academy with selective enrollment, led New Jersey, placing 16th in the nation. It also ranked as the nation's best specialized school for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for the third-straight year.
New Jersey schools with selective enrollment, including specialized high schools run by county vocational districts, typically rank ahead of many of the state's traditional high schools.
By Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| Updated April 25, 2017
Star Ledger--Christie budget would strain N.J. schools and local governments, rating agency says
TRENTON -- Schools and local governments will feel the pinch in Gov. Chris Christie's final budget, a rating agency said Monday of the $35.5 billion spending plan.
The budget includes just $16.1 million in new direct aid for schools, and the vast majority of schools won't see any increase from this year's levels. They do benefit from indirect aid, in which the state picks up the tab for debt service and teacher retirement benefits. Those supports would increase by more than $500 million from this year to next.
Local governments won't fare much better, S&P Global Ratings said, as they'll receive just $1.7 million, or 0.11 percent, more than the current budget.
Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| on April 24, 2017 at 1:57 PM, updated April 24, 2017 at 7:02 PM
Education Week--How Parents Widen—or Shrink—Academic Gaps
Five years ago, Mary Muñoz thought she knew what it meant to be involved in her son's education.
She brought Christian, then in 1st grade, to school every morning, made sure he did homework every afternoon, and read with him every night. Muñoz went to parent-teacher conferences, but didn't get involved in parent-teacher organizations or school committees.
"I had no time. I was just working, working, working all the time," she said. "When I wasn't, I was home with my family. ... [T]hat was my networking."
Muñoz is like a lot of parents, particularly those living in poverty. Contrary to some common stereotypes, parents of all income levels have high expectations for their children, and low-income parents may even dedicate more time than wealthier ones to helping children with homework, according to federal data. Many school outreach efforts to low-income parents center on just that kind of home-focused involvement.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/04/19/how-parents-widen--or-shrink--academic-gaps.html
By Sarah D. Sparks and Alex Harwin| April 18, 2017
