§1

C. 18A:7F-5.1

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Approp.

P.L. 1997, CHAPTER 232, approved August 25, 1997

Assembly, No. 2741 (Second Reprint)

An Act concerning State aid for public school districts, ¹amending and¹ supplementing P.L.1996, c.138 and making an appropriation.

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

    1. ¹(New section)¹ Notwithstanding any provision of P.L.1996, c.138 (C:18A:7F-1 et seq.) or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto to the contrary, for the 1997-98 school year a school district, county vocational school district, or county special services school district shall receive additional State aid equal to the amount by which the district's State aid was reduced in the 1996-97 school year pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1995, c.236 (C.18A:7E-²[1] 6² et seq.). ¹The additional aid received by a district shall be an adjustment to the district's spending growth limitation for the 1997-98 school year.¹ For the 1998-99 school year and thereafter, this additional amount shall be included in the school district's or county vocational school district's prebudget year net budget and prebudget year net T&E budget.

    ²[¹2. (New section) Notwithstanding any provision of P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-1 et seq.) or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto to the contrary, for the 1997-98 school year any district in which the special education students resident within the district were excluded from the calculation of core curriculum standards aid because the district was incorrectly listed as a non-operating district in the calculation of that aid shall receive additional State aid equal to the amount necessary to provide the district with its corrected core curriculum standards aid entitlement. The additional aid received by the district pursuant to this section shall be applied toward the district's 1997-98 local share.¹]²

    ²[¹3.] 2.² Section 10 of P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-10) is amended to read as follows:

    10. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act to the contrary, the total stabilized aid for each district shall not be increased by more than the district's stabilization aid growth limit. In the event that total stabilized aid exceeds the prebudget year total by a rate greater than the stabilization aid growth limit, the commissioner shall adjust the components of total stabilized aid so that they total exactly the prebudget year total increased by the stabilization aid growth limit. For the 1997-98 school year, the prebudget year total shall include foundation aid, transition aid, categorical aids for special education, bilingual education and county vocational education, and transportation aid paid for the 1996-97 school year. For the 1998-99 school year and thereafter, the prebudget year total shall be the total for the same aid categories as included in total stabilized aid plus any stabilization aid the district has received pursuant to subsection b. of this section, as paid in the prebudget years. For the 1997-98 and 1998-99 school years, total stabilized aid shall include core curriculum standards aid, categorical aids for special education programs, bilingual education programs, and county vocational programs, transportation aid, and aid for adult and postsecondary programs calculated pursuant to sections 15, 19, 20, 21, 25, and 28 of this act. For the 1999-2000 school year and thereafter, total stabilized aid shall include core curriculum standards aid, supplemental core curriculum standards aid, distance learning network aid, categorical aids for special education programs, bilingual education programs, county vocational programs, early childhood program aid, demonstrably effective program aid, instructional supplement aid, transportation aid, aid for adult and postsecondary programs, and academic achievement rewards calculated pursuant to sections 15 through 22, 25, 28 and 29 of this act.

    Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the commissioner shall ensure that for any district with a stabilization reduction in 1997-98 that by the 1999-2000 school year and thereafter, the total stabilized aid for each school district reflects the actual pupil counts of the district.

    b. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act to the contrary, the total of a district's stabilization aid, core curriculum standards aid, supplemental core curriculum standards aid, distance learning network aid, categorical aids for special education programs, bilingual education programs, county vocational programs, early childhood program aid, demonstrably effective program aid, transportation aid, aid for adult and postsecondary programs, and academic achievement rewards calculated pursuant to subsection a. of this section and sections 15 through 17, subsection a. of section 18, 19 through 22, 25, 28 and 29 of this act, shall not be decreased by more than 10% below the amounts paid for these categories in the prebudget year. In the event that the sum of the formula entitlements calculated pursuant to those sections is less than 90% of the prebudget total, stabilization aid shall be paid in the amount of the difference between 90% of the prebudget year total and the sum of those entitlements. For the 1997-98 school year, the prebudget year total shall include foundation aid, transition aid, aid for at-risk pupils, technology aid and categorical aids for special education, bilingual education and county vocational education, and transportation aid.

    c. For the 1997-98 school year, supplemental stabilization aid shall be paid to any district in which:

    (1) the total aid payable for the categories listed in subsection b. of this section is less than the prebudget year total for the same aids; and

    (2) resident enrollment projected for October 1997 exceeds 99 percent of the resident enrollment for October 1991 or resident enrollment projected for October 1997 is less than resident enrollment for October 1991 by 35 or fewer pupils or the prebudget year equalized tax rate exceeded the Statewide average equalized school tax rate by 10% or more.

    An eligible district shall be aided in the amount of its total aid decline, after offset by any stabilization aid provided pursuant to subsection b. of this section, or $4,000,000, whichever is less. The commissioner, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs and the Director of the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs, shall examine the fiscal ability of districts eligible for supplemental stabilization aid to absorb aid losses and shall make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor regarding the continuation of supplemental stabilization aid. The commissioner shall not implement any of those recommendations until the recommendations are enacted into law.

    d. Additional supplemental stabilization aid of $500,000 per district shall be disbursed to any district which meets all of the following criteria:

    (1) the district's projected resident enrollment for the 1997-98 school year exceeds 10,000 pupils;

    (2) the district's 1996-97 net budget is less than the sum of its maximum T&E budget calculated pursuant to section 13 of this act and early childhood program aid, demonstrably effective program aid, instructional supplement aid, transportation aid, and categorical program aid received pursuant to sections 19 through 22, 28, and 29 of this act;

    (3) the district's total aid payable for the categories listed in subsection b. of this section exceeds the prebudget year total for the same aids by no more than 10%;

    (4) the district's original State aid notice for 1996-97 was not reduced pursuant to P.L.1995, c.236 (C.18A:7E-6 et seq.);

    (5) the district's core curriculum standards aid as a percentage of its T&E budget is less than 50%; and

    (6) the district was certified as of November 30, 1996.

    e. For the 1997-98 school year, each district which had pupils placed in a county special services school district on October 15, 1995 shall receive additional supplemental stabilization aid as follows:

    (1) when the sum of the district's total aid payable for the categories listed in subsection b. of this section, aid payable pursuant to subsections c. and d. of this section, and aid payable pursuant to subsection c. of section 18 of this act exceeds the prebudget year total for the same aids pursuant to subsection b. of this section, the district shall receive an amount equal to the excess of the State aid generated by such placements in the county special services school district in 1996-97 over the excess calculated pursuant to this paragraph; or

    (2) when the district's prebudget year aid pursuant to subsection b. of this section equals or exceeds the sum of the total aid payable for the categories listed in subsection b. of this section, aid payable pursuant to subsections c. and d. of this section, and aid payable pursuant to subsection c. of section 18 of this act, the district shall receive an amount equal to the State aid generated by such placements in the county special services school district in 1996-97.

    f. Supplemental school tax reduction aid shall be paid to any district which meets the following criteria:

    (1) the district's 1996-97 net budget per pupil is less than 115% of the State average net budget per pupil;

    (2) the district's 1996-97 equalized tax rate of the general fund is greater than 130% of the Statewide average equalized school tax rate;

    (3) the district does not receive any supplemental core curriculum standards aid; and

    (4) the district is not included within the Department of Education's district factor groups I or J based on the 1990 federal census data.

    Each district which is determined to be eligible to receive aid pursuant to this subsection shall receive aid according to the following formula:

    .75 X (ESTR - 1.30 X STESTR) X EVAL

    where

    ESTR is the district's equalized tax rate of the general fund for the 1996-97 school year;

    STESTR is the Statewide average equalized school tax rate for the 1996-97 school year; and

    EVAL is the district October 1995 equalized valuation.

    No district shall receive more than $300,000 pursuant to this subsection.

    g. Additional supplemental stabilization aid shall be paid to any district which is located in a municipality which has a population composed of more than 45% senior citizens age 65 or older according to the most recent federal decennial census. The aid shall equal $200 multiplied by the district's resident enrollment projected for October 1997.

    h. For the 1997-98 school year, any county vocational school district which is not eligible for supplemental stabilization aid pursuant to subsection c. of this section but which meets the requirements of paragraph (1) of that subsection and in which the secondary resident enrollment for October 1996 exceeds the resident enrollment projected for October 1997 shall be entitled to supplemental stabilization aid after offset by any aid received by the district pursuant to subsections b., d., e., f., and g. of this section and subsection c. of section 18 of P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-18), or $500,000, whichever is less. A recommendation concerning the continuation of aid awarded pursuant to this subsection shall be made by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of subsection c. of this section.

    i. Any stabilization aid, supplemental stabilization aid, and supplemental school tax reduction aid paid pursuant to this section shall be applied toward the required local share of the school district or county vocational school district which receives the aid ;except that for the 1997-98 school year, any aid received by a district pursuant to subsection h. of this section shall be an adjustment to the district's spending growth limitation.¹

(cf: P.L.1996, c.138, s.10)

    ¹[2.]²[ 4.¹] 3.² There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Education ¹[$6,602,749] ²[$8,429,960¹] $8,127,271² to effectuate the purposes of this act.

    ¹[3.]²[ 5.¹] 4.² This act shall take effect immediately.

Restores State aid in the 1997-98 school year to school districts with administrative penalties in 1996-97 and provides additional aid to certain other districts; appropriates $8,127,271.