ASSEMBLY, No. 514

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblywoman CRECCO and Assemblyman GREGG

An Act concerning the budgets of school districts, amending N.J.S.18A:22-33 and repealing N.J.S.18A:22-37 and N.J.S.18A:22-38.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. N.J.S.18A:22-23 is amended to read as follows:

    18A:22-33. The board of education of each type II district not having a board of school estimate shall, at each annual school election, submit to the voters of the district, the amounts of money fixed and determined in its budget, excluding therefrom the sum or sums stated therein to be used for interest and debt redemption charges, in the manner provided by law, to be voted upon for the use of the public schools of the district for the ensuing school year, which amounts shall be stated in the notice of the election[, and the legal voters of the district shall determine at such election, by a majority vote of those voting upon the proposition, the sum or sums, not exceeding those stated in the notice of the election, to be raised by special district tax for said purposes, in the district during the ensuing school year and the secretary of the board of education shall certify the amounts so determined upon, if any, and the sums so stated for interest and debt redemption charges, to the county board of taxation of the county within].

    Within two days following the date of the election [and] the secretary of the board of education shall certify to the county board of taxation of the county an amount equal to the sum contained in the budget for interest and debt redemption charges plus either:

    a. The value of the proposed budget, excluding the sum for interest and debt redemption, if the legal voters of the district have approved that budget by majority vote; or

    b. The value of the district's budget for the prebudget year, minus the sum used for interest and debt reduction in the prebudget year, increased or decreased in direct proportion to the most recent annual rise or fall in the consumer price index for all urban consumers in the New York city and Philadelphia areas as reported by the United States Department of Labor, if the legal voters reject the budget.

    The amount or amounts so certified shall be included in the taxes assessed, levied and collected in the municipality or municipalities comprising the district for such purposes.

    As used in this section, "prebudget year" means the school year preceding the year in which the school budget will be implemented.

    2. N.J.S.18A:22-37 and N.J.S.18A:22-38 are repealed.

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill changes the procedures which are to be applied when the voters of a school district reject the proposed operating budget at the school election.

    Under current law the rejected budget is then reviewed by the municipal governing body or bodies which then certifies an amount necessary to provide a thorough and efficient education in the district. If the governing body fails to act, if two or more governing bodies certify different amounts, or if the school board appeals the amount certified by the governing body, the Commissioner of Education determines the district's budget.

    This bill provides that if a budget is rejected by the voters, the previous year's budget will be used again, with an increase or decrease made in accordance with a change in the consumer price index. In this calculation, the previous year's expenditures for interest and debt reduction are excluded from the base amount and the sums proposed by the school board for interest and debt reduction are included in the new budget.

    This bill is intended to restore the rights of local taxpayers to determine the level of taxation necessary for the support of the public schools. At present, the judgment of the people, expressed through the democratic process, is summarily overturned by the actions of a single unelected individual.

Revises the procedure to determine a local school budget after rejection by the voters.