STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator SAMUEL D. THOMPSON
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Senator NILSA CRUZ-PEREZ
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Turner
SYNOPSIS
Provides emergency State school aid to certain school districts located in historic communities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning emergency State school aid for certain school districts and supplementing chapter 58 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. For the 2019-2020 through 2024-2025 school years, the Commissioner of Education shall provide emergency aid to a school district, upon the school district’s submission of an application for the emergency aid, if:
(1) the school district is located in a municipality listed on the national and State registers of historic places;
(2) the school district is comprised of only one school building that was originally built by the federal government and will revert to the federal government if the school building ceases to operate;
(3) the students enrolled in the school district demonstrate a high level of academic achievement;
(4) the school district demonstrates that without the emergency aid, the district is at risk of closing its school building, and the closure of the building will have a negative impact, not only on the students who attend the school, but on the quality of life of the residents of the community at large and the historic legacy of the community; and
(5) the school district is subject to reductions in State aid pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of section 4 of P.L.2018, c.67 (C.18A:7F-68), and those reductions have directly impacted the ability of the school district to continue to operate the school building.
b. The commissioner shall review the school district’s application for emergency aid, and if the application adequately demonstrates that the school district meets the criteria established pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the commissioner shall provide the school district with emergency aid in an amount equal to the school district’s reduction in State aid for that budget year.
Prior to making a determination, the commissioner may request that the district provide such additional supporting information and documentation as the commissioner deems necessary.
c. A school district that seeks emergency aid pursuant to this section shall submit a separate emergency aid application for each school year.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a process for the allocation of emergency aid to school districts that have a single school building that has a significant historic legacy, and the reduction in State aid to that school district may result in the closure of the school building and consequently the loss of that legacy.
Under the bill’s provisions, upon the submission of an application, the Commissioner of Education will provide emergency aid for the 2019-2020 through 2024-2025 school years to a school district that meets the following criteria:
· The school district is located in a municipality listed on the national and State registers of historic places;
· The school district is comprised of only one school building that was originally built by the federal government and will revert to the federal government if the school building ceases to operate;
· The students enrolled in the school district demonstrate a high level of academic achievement;
· The school district demonstrates that without the emergency aid, the district is at risk of closing its school building, and the closure of the building will have a negative impact on the students, the residents of the community at large, and the historic legacy of the community;
· The school district is subject to reductions in State aid under P.L.2018, c.67 (C.18A:7F-67 et al.), and those reductions have directly impacted the ability of the school district to continue to operate the school building.
The commissioner will review the school district’s application and may ask for any additional supporting information and documentation that he deems necessary. If the application and information adequately demonstrates that the school district meets the criteria, the commissioner will provide emergency aid in an amount equal to the school district’s reduction in State aid for that budget year.
The provision of emergency aid under this bill addresses the fact that some school districts face unique circumstances and that it is in the best interests of the State to recognize and address those circumstances.