ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2741

with Assembly committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MARCH 20, 1997

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 2741, with committee amendments.

      Assembly Bill No. 2741, as amended, returns to school districts in the 1997-98 school year the amount of State aid which was deducted from their aid entitlement in the 1996-97 school year. The 1996-97 State aid penalties were based on the individual district's budgeted per pupil administrative spending in the 1995-96 school year. In addition, the bill makes clear that beginning in the 1998-99 school year this additional State aid amount will be included in the district's prebudget year net budget and prebudget year net T&E budget.

      The bill also provides supplemental stabilization aid in the 1997-98 school year to county vocational schools in which the secondary resident enrollment for October 1996 exceeds the resident enrollment projected for October 1997. The aid will equal the amount of the district's aid decline between the 1996-97 school and 1997-98 school years up to a maximum amount of $500,000. In addition the bill provides $302,689 in core curriculum standards aid to the Great Meadows Regional School District. This aid was under calculated for the 1997-98 school year because the special education students with the district were not included.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      In the 1996-97 school year, $6,602,749 was deducted from the State aid entitlement of 63 school districts. This bill appropriates the same amount of money for additional State aid to those districts in the 1997-98 school year. The bill also provides an additional $1,524,522 in State aid to six county vocational schools in the 1997-98 school year and $302,689 to the Great Meadows Regional School District to correct an error in the calculation of the district's 1997-98 core curriculum standards aid.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT:

      The amendments provide that the budget cap of any district which receives State aid under the bill's provisions will be increased by the amount of that additional aid in the 1997-98 school year. The amendments also provide supplemental stabilization aid to certain county vocational school districts and additional aid to the Great Meadows Regional School District to correct an error in the calculation of the district's 1997-98 care curriculum standards aid.