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3-22-18 Education in the News

NJ Spotlight-- If Murphy Holds Municipal Aid Flat, Can Property Taxes Go Anywhere But Up?

The proposed budget represents the eighth consecutive year of flat funding, while inflation has continued to climb

New Jersey’s municipalities are being left out in the cold again by a state budget that seeks to freeze aid to towns at 2010 levels, leaving municipal officials with little choice but to increase property taxes to avoid cutting services.

Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed budget recommends no increase in aid to communities, keeping the level of municipal property-tax relief in the new fiscal year at $1.4 billion. That’s in sharp contrast to the 3 percent, or $283 million, hike in aid to schools that he proposed.

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/03/21/if-murphy-holds-municipal-aid-flat-can-property-taxes-go-anywhere-but-up/

Colleen O'Dea | March 22, 2018

 

NJ Spotlight--Explainer: Here’s How the Governor Plans to Ease Property Taxes — a Bit

While Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget proposal would give homeowners a bigger write-off, it would keep in place rules that hold down other relief programs

Property-tax bills went up yet again in New Jersey last year, and only adding to the pain are new federal tax rules that cap a longstanding federal write-off for local taxes. Enter Gov. Phil Murphy, whose first state budget proposal would provide some relief. It calls for an expansion of a New Jersey deduction for property taxes, but it also keeps in place other policies that can end up shortchanging many homeowners.

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/03/21/explainer-here-s-how-the-governor-plans-to-ease-property-taxes-just-a-bit/

John Reitmeyer | March 22, 2018

 

NJ Spotlight--Lawmakers Seek to Expand Access to Overdose Antidote

Schools and prisons are the targets of two measures meant to save lives and block opioid use

Democratic legislators are seeking to expand efforts to address opioid addiction and overdoses through new programs in two very different public institutions — New Jersey’s public schools and state prisons.

An Assembly committee is scheduled today to consider a proposal to require all schools to train school nurses and other officials in administering opioid antidotes, like naloxone or Narcan; high schools would also be required to maintain a supply of these substances. The goal is to reduce the chance of overdose death on school grounds for students, teachers, staff, and visitors.

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/03/21/lawmakers-seek-to-expand-access-to-overdose-antidote/

Lilo H. Stainton | March 22, 2018

 

The Record--Pascack Valley students will make up snow day with virtual school

Horses on Ramapo Valley road in Mahwah, NJ. Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com

The term “snow day” is tantamount to bliss for most school children, and perhaps teachers too, but as the powder and school closings pile up, districts are left scrambling to make up lost time.

The Pascack Valley Regional High School District has come up with a solution to meet the 180-day state requirement - it will hold a virtual school day.

Rather than cut spring break short or add days to the end of the school year, as some have done, the district's virtual school day is scheduled to be held during spring break. Students can log in from any location, school officials said.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/2018/03/21/pascack-valley-students-make-up-snow-day-virtual-school/447112002/

Sarah Nolan, Staff Writer, @sarnolan Published 5:53 p.m. ET March 21, 2018 | Updated 10:44 p.m. ET March 21, 2018

 

Asbury Park Press--How much of your NJ property tax bill goes to schools?

Stay with the Asbury Park Press for coverage of the debates and decisions surrounding local school budgets. Ryan Ross

At $16,561, the Mantoloking average residential tax bill was among the highest in New Jersey in 2016, coming at just shy of twice the state's average.

Of that whopping bill, homeowners in this wealthy enclave pay toward public schools on average  — wait for it —

 $238.

That's less than 1.5 percent of Mantoloking's residential property taxes. It's also far less than the state average, where about 52 percent of a property tax bill goes to public education.

For the vast majority of New Jerseyans, schools account for the largest portion of their property tax bill. With lawmakers expected to debate a new school funding plan this summer, Eye on Your Taxes will be taking a look at various school taxes and funding issues,

https://www.app.com/story/news/investigations/watchdog/taxes/2017/06/14/nj-school-tax-funding/389798001/

Susanne Cervenka, @scervenka Published 5:00 a.m. ET June 14, 2017 | Updated 10:54 a.m. ET March 20, 2018

 

Education Week--'You Have to Redefine Normal': Leading Schools in the Aftermath of a Shooting

They share an unfortunate bond—the principals and superintendents of schools and districts where unexpected gunfire shattered their peace and where the names of their schools and communities came to symbolize tragedy.

Columbine. Sandy Hook. And now Parkland.

For schools and district leaders in charge when the unthinkable happens, there is no playbook on how to pick up after the crime scene has been sanitized.

How do you balance attending funerals and consoling students, staff, and parents with trying to reopen a school building?

How do you motivate your staff to return to class when they are grieving their students and colleagues?

What steps do you take to set up long-term counseling and plan permanent memorials for the victims?

How do you handle the blame that may come from angry, grieving family members?

Do you jump into the political fray in the inevitable debates that follow over gun control and school safety?

And once you’ve plowed through all those hard questions and immediate needs, how do you manage a recovery process that will likely span years?

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/03/21/you-have-to-redefine-normal-leading-schools.html

Denisa R. Superville| March 21, 2018