SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE, Nos. 1964, 2036 and 1922

with Senate committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JUNE 5, 1997

      The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably the Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill Nos. 1964, 2036 and 1922 with amendments.

      Senate Bill Nos. 1964, 2036 and 1922 SCS, as amended, returns to 63 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 as penalties. 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 districts' aid decline between the 1996-97 and 1997-98 school years up to a maximum amount of $500,000.

      As amended and reported, this bill is identical to Assembly Bill No. 2741 (1R) (Collins/Rocco) as amended and reported by this committee on June 12, 1997.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to remove the section concerning additional State aid to Great Meadows Regional School District in the amount of $302,689 to provide the correct core curriculum standards aid entitlement. Instead, this amount will be provided in the FY1998 annual appropriations act. In addition, a technical amendment was made to correct a citation error.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      For the 1997-98 school year, this bill appropriates $6,602,749 as additional State aid to 63 school districts; this amount equals the amount that was deducted from State aid entitlements for these districts in the 1996-97 school year. The bill also provides an additional $1,524,522 in State aid to six county vocational schools for the 1997-98 school year.