- NJASA
- 2014
What’s on the Horizon for New Jersey Public Schools this Year?
Posted by NJASA Executive Director Dr. Richard Bozza on 8/28/2014
Plenty!
From school budget and funding pressures, to shared services and school
security, and changes in teacher and principal assessments, chief education
officers are helping to shape policy, leading change and troubleshooting
challenges. If you live in New Jersey, whether you have children in the schools
or not, here are the items to watch for the 2014-2015 school year that have the
potential to impact your local district budgets, students and curriculum.
Are New Jersey school budgets set in stone?
While the state budget has already been set through
fiscal year through June 30, 2015, resolutions to several issues and court
cases could reallocate funds mid-stream during the year.
For example, 20 mostly southern rural districts, called
Bacon districts, that are educating a large population of students in poverty,
are fighting for the same equitable funding that has been afforded the Abbott
districts in Bacon
v. N.J. Department of Education. The funding was promised in a 2008
successful lawsuit. To date, the resources have never been provided. The
Education Law Center has recently filed a notice with the state requiring that
the funds be allocated. We’re awaiting the decision. If it’s approved, that
will potentially impact state aid to schools.
In addition, public employees are challenging
the Governor’s budget decision to withhold the required $2.25
billion dollars in funding of the state pension system. Governor Christie
recently cut a state payment to the New Jersey Pension Fund from $1.58 billion
to $696 million, due to an unanticipated shortfall in state revenue. If the
court decides the payment will be made, adjustments need to come from
somewhere.
Also, costs for providing for special education students
are rising at a faster rate than those for regular education. Districts are
challenged to support increasing costs for special education students within
the 2 percent cap to the tax levy. This creates another need for budget shifts.
Another factor to keep an eye on is the lawsuit seeking
to provide the cost
of living adjustments to public retirees. A favorable ruling will
require the state to provide a substantially larger portion of future state
budgets to meet growing pension payments.
All of these items have the potential to reduce needed
funding to local school districts.
Is it easy for New Jersey schools to share services or
merge?
A cost-saving trend in publicly funded services such as
police forces and schools is to examine ways save money by sharing services. Other
districts share purchase acquisitions on supplies, equipment and more. Many opportunities do exist, and each
situation is unique.
But there’s another trend to merge districts. This is
more than sharing services. In a merger, districts come together under one
umbrella of administration to save costs. Hunterdon County has just merged four
like-minded school districts. It works because the districts are similar in
demographics and approach. But what happens when a wealthy district tries to
merge with a poor one? It may turn out that shared service agreements will work
more seamlessly than mergers as districts try to sort out budgets.
Do armed guards belong at school? |
While many schools are more secure than ever before,
school leaders are vigilant in their unwavering dedication to providing student
safety and security. There are ongoing conversations about whether armed guards
belong in schools and other ways to protect our students.
Phase-in of PARCC assessment implications is a good idea.
Governor Christie has decided to phase in the impact on
teacher and principal evaluations of the new online testing called PARCC,
the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. That’s a
prudent move as it will be the first year that all students take the
assessment. A gradual implementation gives us time to navigate the bumps and
challenges of an online assessment of higher standards. Over time, we’ll also
have to examine how the PARCC assessments will impact graduation requirements.
Educator evaluation in New Jersey will go forward with
proposed changes to the weights of student test scores. The AchieveNJ
will give teachers a chance
to get used to the new common core curriculum standards being rolled out this
year, and a new generation of standardized tests coming in 2014-15.
Should the State be in our districts?
Newark, Paterson and Jersey City have been under state
control for up to 20 years, but students in those districts still struggle to
pass state assessments. Camden became the fourth district under state control
in 2013. It doesn’t make sense to have the state in classrooms for decades,
without significant results. Perhaps a new model is needed.
NJASA offers professional development opportunities for
school leaders. |
New Jersey’s Chief Education Officers are working hard to
confront these challenges and others—always with the goal of the best interest
of our students. NJASA has several professional development options
for school administrators to learn and network so together they can guide New
Jersey schools to be the best they can be. NJASA programs include One Day
Seminars, New Superintendents’ Academy, and Superintendents’ Academy…Continued. Our Guide to NJASA Professional
Development for New Jersey School Leaders video has more information on our training programs.
Stay tuned to the New Jersey Association of School
Administrators website at www.njasa.net, this
blog and our Facebook page for continuing up-to-date
information on these critical issues and our professional programs. Our goal is
to help New Jersey students get the best possible education
and keep administrative costs down.
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