BIPARTISAN BILLS FOR NOVEMBER SCHOOL ELECTIONS, SLASHING SCHOOL OVERHEAD COSTS CLEAR COMMITTEE

BIPARTISAN BILLS FOR NOVEMBER SCHOOL ELECTIONS,
SLASHING SCHOOL OVERHEAD COSTS CLEAR COMMITTEE
Measures Aim to Enhance Accountability at School Board Level,
Clamp Down on Non-Classroom Administrative Costs

(TRENTON) - Two bipartisan measures Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. is championing to enhance local voters' ability to hold elected school board members accountable for their fiscal and policy decisions and to slash inefficient non-classroom administrative spending in public schools were released today by the Assembly Education Committee.

The bills would move school board member elections to the November ballot (A-15) and require 10 percent cuts in administrative non-classroom spending in certain districts over the next three years (A-10).

"We need to reform a system that elects school boards with a super-minority of voters and offers little accountability when it comes to administrative spending that is among the highest in the nation," said Roberts (D-Camden). "The largest portion of any homeowner's property tax bill goes to support public education. If we are to be successful in lowering New Jersey's property taxes, we need to confront inefficiencies that push tax levies higher."

The first measure would eliminate the current April school elections; school board candidates would run for office on the November General Election ballot. Under the bill, candidates would be placed in an area of the ballot that would specifically note the school election as non-partisan. In addition, votes on school budgets would be eliminated except in cases where a proposed budget exceeds statutory spending or tax levy limits.

The sponsors say November school elections would give communities a greater say in a school district's direction and eliminate the costs associated with April's stand-alone elections.

The measure also is sponsored by Assemblymen David Wolfe (R-Ocean/Monmouth), Jerry Green (D-Union), and Wayne DeAngelo (D-Mercer/Middlesex).

"November school elections would provide greater accountability while reducing unnecessary costs," said Wolfe. "This is a commonsense solution that will do away with the added expense of holding multiple elections, and at the same time, by holding the election at a time of greater voter turnout, will ensure that a larger segment of the public has a voice in the outcome of these contests."

Speaker Roberts ordered the bill numbered A-15 in recognition that, on average, only 15 percent of voters show up at the polls for the April school elections.

"Democrats and Republicans agree that April's school elections have failed to spark significant public participation," said Green. "Higher voter turnouts from a November school election will give a community a real say in how its schools are operated."

"April's school elections have become a costly charade," said DeAngelo, a resident of Hamilton Township, Mercer County, where the district budget was voted-down, but the election was overturned by state education officials. "Ultimate fiscal responsibility and accountability should rest with a school board elected in November by a majority of voters."

The second measure - sponsored by Roberts and Assembly Republican Budget Officer Joseph Malone - would direct executive county school superintendents to cut local school administrative costs in the state's least efficient districts over the next three years.

"A key component of providing property tax relief is reducing school district expenditures and those reductions are best targeted at unnecessary administrative spending," said Malone (R-Burlington/Ocean/Monmouth/Mercer). "This legislation will compel districts to cut down on those often-times inflated administrative costs without taking money out of the classroom that directly benefits our children."

Under the measure, starting in the 2009-2010 school year, the current formula for determining appropriate non-classroom administrative costs  would be scrapped. By the 2012-2013 school year, administrative spending could not exceed either the district's prior year per-pupil administrative cost or 90 percent of the prior year per-pupil regional administrative cost limits, whichever is lower.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, New Jersey currently boasts the nation's third-highest average per-pupil administrative costs - $1,393. The state Department of Education's 2008 Comparative Spending Guide reports the average school district spends 11 percent of its budget on administrative costs.

The bills were released by votes of 10-2 (A-15) and 12-0 (A-10).

Speaker Roberts may now decide when to post the bills for a floor vote.

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