GREENWALD: CHRISTIE’S REJECTION OF STIMULUS FUNDS WOULD LEAVE NEW JERSEY STUDENTS BEHIND

(Mount Laurel) – Assembly Budget Chair Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) and Freeholder Chris Brown (D-Burlington) today joined dozens of students from state and county colleges and universities to hammer Conservative Right Wing Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie for his refusal to accept billions of dollars in federal funding for education and job training.

Greenwald and Brown called Christie’s approach “fiscally reckless” and said he is using party politics to deny students and small businesses billions in education aid from President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“Christie’s purely political refusal to accept federal education funding would be a major blow to New Jersey students who are already counting on this assistance to continue their education,” said Greenwald (D-Cherry Hill). “Again, Christie is playing follow the leader with staunch Right Wing Conservatives who are out-of-step with the needs of New Jersey’s working families. When it comes to the role quality education plays in creating jobs to keep New Jerseyans working – Christie doesn’t have a clue.”

WHELAN SUPPORTS HIGHER EDUCATION PROVISIONS IN ECONOMIC STIMULUS ACT

TRENTON – Senator Jim Whelan said today that provisions contained within the “New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009” that pertain to higher education in New Jersey would help boost the national reputation of the State’s public colleges and universities while creating new research and job opportunities for students. The “Economic Stimulus Act,” which was sponsored by Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, received final legislative approval from the Senate today by a vote of 23-14.

“Our State colleges and public universities are at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to the financing of on-campus projects and the opportunities created for students through strong public-private partnerships,” said Senator Whelan, D-Atlantic, and a member of the Senate Education Committee who advocated for these policy changes while working on the higher education restructuring legislation which was approved earlier today in the Senate. “Because of the regulatory and legal blockades which prevent institutions of higher education from contracting with private entities to finance construction projects in New Jersey, colleges have to rely on inadequate State financial support or tuition revenues to build on campus. Other states have given colleges the authority to take advantage of private financing, and the results are phenomenal.

LESNIAK HIGHER EDUCATION RESTRUCTURING BILL APPROVED BY BUDGET PANEL

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Raymond J. Lesniak which would ensure accountability and transparency at public universities and State colleges was approved by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee today by a vote of 14-0, with one abstention.

“While our schools remain among the top-ranked colleges and universities in the entire nation, we need to do more to ensure that higher education is affordable in the Garden State. By increasing transparency and accountability of college spending and re-establishing a central, cabinet-level voice for colleges, we can continue to provide world-class education and keep tuition costs from escalating,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) that would require all four-year colleges in New Jersey to provide more comprehensive information about the actual cost of attendance was approved 5-0 today by the Senate Education Committee.

The bill (S-2776) would require schools to post the information on their websites, along with information on the graduation rates of admitted students and information on the faculty. The "New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act," would ensure such information is updated annually.

REDD BILL TO REQUIRE COLLEGES TO PREPARE DISASTER PLANS ADVANCES

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Dana Redd which would require colleges in New Jersey to develop and coordinate comprehensive disaster preparedness plans for a number of potential emergencies, including pandemics, was approved by the Senate Education Committee today by a vote of 3-0.

“During a period of global unrest and uncertainty, public institutions are still being called on to meet the educational needs of our college students,” said Senator Redd, D-Camden and Gloucester. “Rather than wait for tragedy to strike – as it did two years ago during the Virginia Tech shooting, or almost a decade ago with the Seton Hall fire – we must coordinate with college leaders and emergency response and homeland security officials to develop practical emergency response plans. Students and their parents should be given full assurances that New Jersey’s colleges are safe learning environments, and that if the unthinkable should happen, there is a plan to protect the student body.”

QUIGLEY: COLLEGE STUDENTS TO BENEFIT
FROM BUDGET'S COMMITMENT TO AFFORDABILITY
Financial Assistance Programs Would Get $34 Million Boost From FY2010 Plan

(TRENTON) - Assemblywoman Joan Quigley today said that even while total state spending would be slashed under the proposed Fiscal Year 2010 state budget, tuition assistance and other financial aid that many New Jersey college students rely upon to pay for their college and university educations would increase by more than 10 percent.

PANEL OK'S SCALERA/McKEON/GREENWALD BILL FOR
TAX-DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO COLLEGE FUND
Measure Would Exempt First $5,000 in Annual Contributions To NJ BEST
College Savings Plan from State Income Taxes

(TRENTON) -- An Assembly panel has released legislation Assemblymen Fred Scalera, John McKeon and Louis Greenwald sponsored to provide a state income tax deduction to residents who save for their children's higher education through a state-administered college savings plan.

LESNIAK STATEMENT ON COMMITTEE APPROVAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION RESTRUCTURING, FINANCING AND FISCAL MANAGEMENT MEASURE

TRENTON – Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, D-Union, the prime sponsor of legislation would provide for improved structure, financing and fiscal management of higher education in New Jersey, issued the following statement today after the Senate Education Committee unanimously approved the bill:

“Today, the Senate Education Committee struck a chord for better colleges and improved accountability in the Garden State. This bill takes a comprehensive approach to ensuring better fiscal management, ensuring a greater voice for colleges in State government, and allowing for public-private partnerships to move our schools into the 21st Century.

WHELAN STATEMENT ON HIGHER EDUCATION RESTRUCTURING BILL APPROVED IN SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

TRENTON – Senator Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, and a sponsor of legislation to provide for the improved structure, financing and fiscal management of higher education in New Jersey, issued the following statement today on the bill’s unanimous approval in the Senate Education Committee:

“While today’s bill approval is a great step forward in giving our State colleges the tools they need to educate young minds, it would be an understatement to say I’m disappointed with the Assembly amendments regulating public-private partnerships.

BUONO BILL TO GIVE COLLEGE STUDENTS THE ABILITY TO OPT OUT OF DUPLICATIVE HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE APPROVED IN COMMITTEE

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senator Barbara Buono which would give college students the ability to opt out of duplicative health insurance coverage offered by institutions of higher education in New Jersey was approved by the Senate Education Committee today by a vote of 3-2.