Bill Text: NJ A3540 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes New Jersey Commission on School Funding in DOE.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-05 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A3540 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A3540-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman ERIC HOUGHTALING
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes New Jersey Commission on School Funding in DOE.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the New Jersey Commission on School Funding and supplementing chapter 7F of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The New Jersey Commission on School Funding is established in the Department of Education. The purpose of the commission shall be to examine the allocation of State aid to school districts and to develop recommendations to address deficiencies that the commission identifies, with the objective of ensuring that the State and school districts provide sufficient funding to provide a thorough and efficient education to all students.
b. The commission shall consist of 15 members as follows:
(1) the Commissioner of Education, who shall serve ex officio, or a designee;
(2) the chief executive officer of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority, who shall serve ex officio, or a designee;
(3) five members appointed by the Governor, including one member each appointed upon the recommendation of the American Federation of Teachers - New Jersey, the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials, and the New Jersey Education Association, and one member of the public who has knowledge and experience in public school finance or State budgeting and finance;
(4) three members appointed by the President of the Senate, including one member each appointed upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Council of County Vocational Schools and the New Jersey School Boards Association, and one member of the public who has knowledge and experience in public school finance or State budgeting and finance;
(5) three members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, including one member each appointed upon the recommendation of the Education Law Center and the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association, and one member of the public who has knowledge and experience in public school finance or State budgeting and finance; and
(6) one member of the public appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, and one member of the public appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly, each having knowledge and experience in public school finance or State budgeting and finance.
c. Appointments to the commission shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of this act. Each appointed member shall serve for a term of three years, except that of the initial appointments: one member appointed by the Governor, one member appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly shall serve for a term of one year; two members appointed by the Governor, one member appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly shall serve for a term of two years; two members appointed by the Governor, one member appointed by the President of the Senate, and one member appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly shall serve for a term of three years; and the members appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the General Assembly shall serve for a term of three years.
Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made for the unexpired term. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for the necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties within the limits of the funds made available to the commission for its purposes.
d. The commission shall organize within 30 days after the appointment of its members. The commissioner shall serve as the chairperson, and the commission shall select a secretary who need not be a member of the commission. The commission shall meet at the call of its chairperson at the times and places it may deem appropriate and necessary to fulfill its duties. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting business.
e. The department shall provide such staff and related support services as the commission requires to carry out its work. The commission shall also be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.
2. a. It shall be the duty of the commission to study:
(1) the provisions of the "School Funding Reform Act of 2008," P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), including, but not limited to: the determination of school districts' adequacy budgets and local shares, including weights applied to students in different grade levels, enrolled in a county vocational school district, or classified as at-risk or bilingual; the parameters used to calculate school districts' security categorical aid and transportation aid; and the factors that determine the allocation of special education categorical aid, including the use of the census-based funding methodology;
(2) provisions of the annual appropriations acts that allocate State aid to school districts in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of the "School Funding Reform Act of 2008," P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.);
(3) State policies that may impact a community's ability to raise a general fund tax levy sufficient to support the provision of educational services including, but not limited to, the tax levy growth limitation established pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2007, c.62 (C.18A:7F-38) and the "Long Term Tax Exemption Law," P.L.1991, c.431 (C.40A:20-1 et seq.); and
(4) school finance policies in other states.
b. The commission shall annually conduct a minimum of three public hearings, at least one in each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, to solicit testimony from stakeholder organizations and members of the public.
c. The commission shall annually issue a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1). The report shall include, but need not be limited to, a summary of the work performed by the commission during the prior year; a detailed discussion of the commission's policy recommendations; and a listing of any relevant pending legislation that the commission believes should be enacted by the Legislature. Each report shall be made available in a prominent location on the department's website.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the New Jersey Commission on School Funding within the Department of Education. The commission will consist of 15 members, including: the Commissioner of Education and the chief executive officer of the Schools Development Authority, serving ex officio, or their designees; five members appointed by the Governor, including four upon the recommendations of various organizations and one public member; three members appointed by the President of the Senate, including two upon the recommendations of various organizations and one public member; three members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, including two upon the recommendations of various organizations and one public member; and two public members with one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate and one by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly. The public members are to have knowledge and experience in public school finance or State budgeting and finance.
The commission would be tasked with examining the allocation of State aid to school districts and developing recommendations to address any identified deficiencies. Specifically, the commission would study the provisions included in the current school funding law, as well as provisions in the annual appropriations acts that modify the manner in which State school aid is allocated; State laws that impact a community's ability to raise a general fund tax levy sufficient to provide for a thorough and efficient education; and school finance policies in other states. The commission would conduct a minimum of three public hearings each year, as well as annually submit a report to the Governor and Legislature that summarizes the commission's work over the prior year and any policy recommendations developed by the commission.
