Bill Text: NJ A2403 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires that certain information on school district expenditures and student achievement be printed on the ballot and sample ballot for the annual school election.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-03-04 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A2403 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A2403-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman PAMELA R. LAMPITT
District 6 (Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Requires that certain information on school district expenditures and student achievement be printed on the ballot and sample ballot for the annual school election.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the approval of school district budgets, amending P.L.1995, c.278, and supplementing chapter 22 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares: that voter participation in the approval of school district budgets which occurs at the annual school election conducted on the third Tuesday in April has averaged between 12% to 15% over the past five years; that this low rate of voter participation in school elections is particularly disturbing in light of the fact that the cost of supporting local public schools can represent more than 50% of a community's property tax burden; that increased voter participation raises the level of debate on the programs and services which are necessary to improve public schools, not only in the particular community, but in the State as a whole; and that an informed citizenry is more likely to be actively engaged in the debate on public education and to participate in the vote on a school district's budget which represents the financial foundation of a school district's educational program.
2. (New section) a. In addition to any other information required by law, the following information for the budget year and the prebudget year shall be printed on the school election ballot required pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1995, c.278 (C.19:60-9) and on the sample ballot required pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1995, c.278 (C.19:60-10):
(1) the district's net budget per pupil;
(2) the district's total cost of building maintenance;
(3) the district's total cost of transportation services provided to regular education public and nonpublic school pupils and to special education pupils with no special transportation requirements;
(4) the district's total cost of transportation services provided to special education pupils with special transportation requirements;
(5) the district's total cost for the provision of special education programs and services;
(6) the district's average teacher salary;
(7) the district's percentage increase in teacher salaries under the district's negotiated contract;
(8) the district's average percentage increase in administrative salaries;
(9) salaries and benefits as a percentage of the district's net budget;
(10) the total number of school district employees;
(11) the number of school district employees assigned to each school building;
(12) the costs associated with each school district athletic team including the salaries of coaches and any other team staff, equipment, uniforms, travel, and miscellaneous expenses;
(13) the name of each school district employee who receives a stipend for participation in school district extracurricular or co-curricular activities, the amount of the stipend, the purpose for which the stipend is paid by the district, and the reason for any increase in the amount of the stipend between the prebudget and budget years; and,
(14) a detailed enumeration of any cost not included in items (1) through (13) that has increased by more than 15% or $10,000, whichever is greater.
b. In addition to any other information required by law, the following information for the prebudget year shall be printed on the school election ballot required pursuant to section 9 of P.L.1995, c.278 (C.19:60-9) and on the sample ballot required pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1995, c.278 (C.19:60-10):
(1) the number of students scoring proficient or advanced proficient on the Statewide assessments in each district school and a comparison of district schools to schools in the same district factor grouping;
(2) if applicable, the number of graduates of each district high school who enrolled in a four-year institution of higher education;
(3) if applicable, the number of graduates of each district high school who enrolled in a county college; and,
(4) if applicable, the number of graduates of each district high school who enrolled in other postsecondary programs.
c. The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the county clerks, shall develop and provide guidelines to school districts on the appropriate format of the information required to be submitted pursuant to this section.
3. Section 4 of P.L.1995, c.278 (C.19:60-4) is amended to read as follows:
4. The secretary of each board of education, not later than 10 o'clock a.m. of the 17th day preceding the annual school election or a special school election, shall make and certify and forward to the clerk of the county in which the school district is located a statement designating any public question to be voted upon by the voters of the district which may be required pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1995, c.278 (C.19:60-1 et al.) or Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and the information required pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) .
(cf: P.L.1995, c.278,s. 4)
4. Section 9 of P.L.1995, c.278 (C.19:60-9) is amended to read as follows:
9. The ballot for a school election shall be a single or blanket form of ballot, upon which shall be printed in bold-faced type the words "OFFICIAL SCHOOL ELECTION BALLOT" or "OFFICIAL SPECIAL SCHOOL ELECTION BALLOT," as appropriate. Any public question which is to be submitted to the voters at a school election and the information required pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be printed in a separate space below or to the right of, as the county clerk shall determine, the listing of candidates in the election.
In the columns in which are listed the titles of the offices to be filled at a school election and the names of candidates for those offices, the title of and the names of candidates for the office of member of the regional board of education shall appear above the title of and the names of candidates for the office of member of the local board of education. With respect to either office, in the event that one or more persons are to be elected to membership thereon for a full term and one or more persons are to be elected to membership thereon to fill an unexpired term, the ballots shall designate which of the candidates to be voted for is to be elected for a full term and which for an unexpired term. In all cases in which one or more persons are to be elected for an unexpired term, the ballots shall indicate the duration of that unexpired term.
All public questions to be voted upon at a school election by the voters of more than one municipality shall be placed first before any question to be voted upon at that election by the voters of a single municipality. When the public question to be voted upon by the voters of a regional school district is the amount of money to be raised for the use of the regional schools of the district, the amount of money determined to be the constituent municipality's share thereof may be identified on the ballot pursuant to N.J.S.18A:13-17.
Every county clerk shall have ready for the printer a copy of the contents of official ballots required by law to be printed for use at a school election, as follows: in the case of the annual school election, not later than the 17th day preceding that election; and in the case of any special school election, not later than two business days following receipt by the clerk of official notice of the complete content of the ballot to be voted upon at that election.
(cf: P.L.2001, c.26, s.2)
5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the April, 2011 school election.
STATEMENT
Unfortunately, participation in the April school budget election is very low. This fact is particularly disturbing given the importance of public education and the concern that local taxpayers have voiced on the impact of educational expenditures on property taxes. In light of the fact that the total amount of the proposed general fund tax levy is the only information available to a voter when he or she steps into the voting booth, it is perhaps difficult for a voter to put that number into context in terms of what is actually happening in the district and the expenditures which that tax levy will support. The purpose of this bill is to provide the voter with greater information at the point in time in which he or she is casting a ballot and to generate a higher level of voter interest in the election by supplying specific information as opposed to a very abstract number.
Under the bill's provisions, information concerning school district expenditures and student achievement will be printed on the sample ballot and the actual ballot for the annual school election. The information includes items such as the district's per pupil spending, costs for pupil transportation, costs for special education programs and services, average teacher's salary and percentage increase in teacher salaries under the district's collective bargaining agreement, the district's average percentage increase in administrative salaries, the number of school district employees, the costs incurred by the district associated with athletic teams, the ranking of district students on the Statewide assessments, and the number of district high school students who pursue a higher education or other postsecondary educational opportunities.
The bill directs the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the county clerks, to develop and provide guidelines on the appropriate format of the information to be included on the ballot and sample ballot.
