What is a BOE member's job description?

A resident emailed to ask me what is the job description of a Board of Education member. I advised her to click here on the District website, where you will see descriptions of The Role of the Board, the Role of the Superintendent, some other FAQs, and also the Board Member Code of Ethics, which contains language about what Board members are and are not responsible for.

For a more formal description, you can read the BOE Policy Manual, Bylaws Section 0120. (I'm not going to put a link here because I'm not sure you want to download the 1,633-page document.)

When I sense that someone may have a misconception about what the BOE does, I try to get across two main (helpful) facts:

1) The Board of Education does not run the schools. The Board's job is to make sure the schools are well run.

2) Any single BOE member has absolutely no power or authority, except when acting, by vote, as a member of the five-member Board.

Both of those facts come from the New Jersey statute 18A, which also states that every Board member must all make decisions "based on the educational welfare of children."

Last year I ran across this quote regarding micromanaging by Boards of Ed. It's a helpful perspective:

Democracy does not mean that the people’s representatives — the school board—take over and operate the schools any more than it means that the board members of a symphony play the violins.
-- American School Board Journal, November 2010

An interesting way to put it, but makes sense.

Superintendent Fishbein meets with Governor-elect Christie's transition team.

Last week, Superintendent Dr. Dan Fishbein was among a group of educators who met with the Governor-elect’s transition team to give input and advice on education issues that will face the new administration ASAP. The group covered many topics including special education costs, new regulations, proposed legislation (prevailing wage, instant tenure), new testing mandates, qualities to look for in a new Education Commissioner and others. The Governor-elect certainly has his work cut out for him. We’ll all be watching closely to see how he makes the most of this opportunity to make some needed changes in state education policy. I’ll keep you posted on developments...

Voters approve more than $215.4 million in school construction projects

As reported by the New Jersey School Boards Association:

Voters in 11 of 15 New Jersey school districts approved more than $215.4 million in school construction projects on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

School boards may hold special elections on five specific dates a year, and Tuesday was the final day for a school board to schedule a referendum in 2009. This year, voters approved school-construction proposals in 48 of 66 communities, for a success rate of 72.7 percent, one of the highest approval rates recorded during the past 11 years. The average success rate during the previous four years has hovered around 62 percent.

The 15 districts holding bond referendums on Tuesday proposed a total of $237 million in school construction. Energy-saving initiatives continued to be popular, as seven of the 15 referendums asked voters to approve solar panels; six of the projects with solar energy components were approved.

Of the $215.4 million that was approved in the 11 districts, nearly $68 million will be covered by state funds, either through up-front grants, annual “debt service aid” payments, or rebates through the state’s Clean Energy program.

The next date on which a school board may schedule a bond referendum question is Jan. 26.

Statewide results from Tuesday’s school construction proposals:

ATLANTIC COUNTY
Estell Manor – REJECTED
Renovations, including HVAC, electrical, and installing a geothermal system
Total amount – $3,105,636
Amount eligible for state funding – $1,367,192

BERGEN COUNTY
Edgewater – PASSED (both questions)
Proposal 1: Demolish the George Washington School and construct new elementary school
Total amount – $28,250,000
Amount eligible for state funding – $ 1,179,750

Proposal 2 (contingent upon the passage of Proposal 1)
Install solar panels at Eleanor Van Gelder School
Total amount – $478,400
Amount eligible for state funding – $191,360

Hasbrouck Heights – REJECTED
Relocation of main office and several classrooms for security reasons at two elementary schools; replacement of heating systems at two elementary schools, the middle school and high school
Total amount – $4,728,712
Amount eligible for state funding – $1,891,484

Ridgewood – PASSED
Renovate high school, including field improvements; additions and/or renovations to eight other schools, with projecting ranging from new roofs to installation of a new track
Total amount – $48,265,314
Amount eligible for state funding – $9,844,712

BURLINGTON COUNTY
Bordentown Regional – PASSED
Renovations to the high school complex, including solar panels, reconstruction of athletic fields, lighting and other work
Total amount – $8,499,975
Amount eligible for state funding – $2,620,936

Mansfield Township – PASSED (both questions)
Proposal 1: Roof replacement at elementary school
Total amount – $639,300
Amount eligible for state funding – $255,720

Proposal 2 (Contingent upon passage of Proposal 1: Install solar panels at elementary school
Total amount – $1,229,424
Amount eligible for state funding – $ 491,770

Springfield Township – REJECTED
Renovations including installing solar panels at elementary school
Total amount – $11,083,227
Amount eligible for state funding – $3,776,565

CAMDEN COUNTY
Berlin Township – PASSED
Roof replacement, renovations to HVAC at two schools; roof replacement at administration building
Total amount – $6,580,995
Amount eligible for state funding – $3,246,206

CAPE MAY COUNTY
Woodbine – PASSED
Install solar panels at elementary school
Total amount – $3,682,665
Amount eligible for state funding – $2,145,745

CUMBERLAND COUNTY
Fairfield Township – PASSED
Addition and renovations to elementary school
Total amount – $3,984,772
Amount eligible for state funding – $1,984,772

ESSEX COUNTY
Livingston Township – PASSED (both questions)
Proposal 1: Renovations to six elementary schools and two middle schools
Total amount – $55,996,572
Amount eligible for state funding – $22,398,628

Proposal 2 (contingent upon passage of Proposal 1): Install solar panels and any necessary roof and electrical system renovations at six elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school
Total amount – $8,687,905
Amount eligible for state funding – $3,475,162

GLOUCESTER COUNTY
Delsea Regional – REJECTED
Replace roof at middle school
Total amount – $3,000,000
Amount eligible for state funding – $1,631,719

SALEM COUNTY
Quinton Township – PASSED
Improvements to elementary school, including installing solar panels
Total amount – $4,839,850
Amount eligible for state funding – $2,717,885

SOMERSET COUNTY
Montgomery Township – PASSED
Renovations to three schools, addition and renovations to one school
Total amount – $24,350,352
Amount eligible for state funding – $9,485,489

UNION COUNTY
Cranford – PASSED
Replace roofs at all schools; replace HVAC systems in three schools and boilers at three other schools.
Total amount – $19,981,269
Amount eligible for state funding – $7,992,506

Refresher Course on the BOE Budget

(updated 11/16/09)
There's been some confusion on another local blog about our district financing.

Some posters said something like, “the district isn’t allowed to put aside money for future capital improvements, because they’re not allowed to end the year with any extra money.”

Other posters countered that the NJDOE says any district can put aside money for capital improvements.

They're both correct…

It is true that a district is not allowed to end its year with a surplus of more than 2% of its total budget. Any surplus beyond 2% must be returned to the voters as tax relief. So that could explain the first poster’s not-allowed-to-save-money statement.

It is also true that a district may budget to put money into a capital reserve account, creating a fund that is accumulated for a “rainy day.” That would be in line with the info the other previous poster got from the NJDOE.

The truth is, this district established a capital reserve fund in 2000. I don't know the exact history of deposits since then, but I do know the fund currently has $1,187,144 in it. (Last year we used money from this account to do some repairs on the 1919 roof at RHS.) In recent years, the district has not been able to budget additional funds for capital reserve, nor have we been able to end the year with as much surplus as in the past. In fact, last year, when developing the budget for this year, the district had to take funds from surplus and apply them to the revenue side, and even then we still had to cut $2.5 million from the budget in order to remain under the state’s cap. The idea of planning to put aside millions of dollars in a capital reserve fund sounds great, but where will that money come from? It would have to come from current programs in our operating budget. Not only that, but can you imagine voters approving cutting several million dollars from the operating budget and setting it aside for some unknown purpose at some unknown future date? Me neither.

(And, yes, it's true that we could choose to add a second question to our annual budget votes, and ask for more tax money to place into a capital reserve. Based on the statistical history of second questions, that doesn't seem too likely, either.)

I know there’s some chatter that the district’s budget is huge or inflated or wasteful. But how many people are looking at the facts (rather than feeding off each other in anonymous blog posts)?

If you really look at the expenses in the district you would quickly see the cost centers: Salaries and Benefits are 75% of the budget (teachers, secretaries, administrators, lunch aides, special education aides, substitutes, etc.), with the remaining 25% going to (in no particular order) transportation costs (busing for special education, regular education, athletics and some RHS extracurricular programs like Speech and Debate), tuition costs (special education out of district, vocational schools, Bergen Academy), custodial and maintenance services, grounds and fields, technology (lease purchase of computers, this year installation of new phone system), professional development and curriculum development, extracurricular/athletics, supplies, maintenance and capital projects, related services for special education (ABA therapy, some OT, PT, Speech, sometimes evaluations by outside psychologists and neurologists when required due to evaluations, IEP and out of district placements), insurance (other than health), legal services, auditor, architect (every capital project requires engineering or architect drawings as required by the state), utilities, phone charges, textbooks, and books for libraries. (I might be missing something.)

If you take a look at the comparative spending guide on the NJDOE web site, Ridgewood’s costs per student are less than the average cost for districts over 3500 students. Compare our costs to Northern Highlands and the other regional high school districts, or Millburn, Montclair, Teaneck, Paramus, Fair Lawn. Our ratios for students and teachers to administrators is higher (meaning we have fewer administrators) than other districts in our size range.

One more thing — school districts are highly regulated by the state. The new accountability standards (215 pages long!) effective last year require us to get state approval for most things that we do, and our budgets are reviewed each year by the state (county superintendent). Our administrative costs are below what the state allows. The county superintendent also approves contracts for our superintendent and two assistant superintendents. Our budget and contracts are in line with all rules and regulations as dictated by the state. As a matter of fact, our auditor will be reporting to the Board the audit of the 2008-09 budget Monday night and the district is being monitored next month by the state under QSAC (a new monitoring system in which districts are monitored every three years).

Sorry for such a long post, but I thought the details would be helpful.

The last thing I want to say (at least for tonight!) is this: This referendum is not a case of, “oops, we forgot to take care of the buildings.” Our budget pressures (thanks mostly to salaries/benefits) combine with 11 old buildings to make it virtually impossible to take care of these types of major capital improvements within the regular budget. In recent years we’ve spent around $2 million every year on capital projects and maintenance…but that doesn’t go very far.

Anyone who has paid close attention to the budget over the years knew this day would come. Personally, I'm thankful it came when interest rates are low, construction costs are low and the state of New Jersey still has it's last few million dollars to grant.)

Tougher NJ high school graduation requirements approved

From today's Bergen Record:

New Jersey high school students will have to pass tougher classes to earn a diploma under new statewide graduation requirements unanimously approved Wednesday by the state Board of Education.

The new requirements focus on technology, communication and problem-solving skills, and were developed by educators, business leaders and university officials. They include more lab sciences and high-level math, a four-year sequence of English classes, and exams at the end of key courses to make sure students have mastered the skills they’ll need in college or on the job.

Click here for the full story.

Highlights of the NEW H.S. GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:

MATH:
Three years of math: algebra I, geometry and a third year of math that includes some advanced algebra and statistics

ENGLISH:
English I-IV

SCIENCE:
Three years of lab science: biology, a choice of chemistry, physics or environmental science, and a third year of science

ECONOMICS:
One semester of economics or financial literacy

Click here for the full story.

State to be late with our $$

Yesterday we learned that due to updated information on poor income tax revenue collections and to the State’s need to present a balance budget by June 30 of this year, the State of New Jersey will DELAY districts' next-to-last state aid payments. (They say it won't be cut, just delayed.) Statewide, this delay totals $380 million.

According to this, then, both our last and next-to-last state aid payments will be reimbursed in early July at the same time.

I'm not sure I understand what the delay actually does for the state -- it's not like they're suddenly going to receive more income tax payments, are they? And if they push these payments into the next fiscal year, doesn't that screw up next year's budget?

In the meantime, districts like Ridgewood will have to adjust our cash flow accordingly. There's no word yet on what this will mean for us specifically, but it can't be good.

You're Invited: Conversation with Dr. Fishbein about State Funding Issues

According to BOE member Sheila Brogan, last week's meeting in Leonia with the Commissioner of Education was an interesting meeting. (I couldn't attend due to a family commitment.) The commissioner spoke about the new school funding formula and the court challenge, components of the high school redesign program, expansion of preschool programs for low income children, the new bill that allows districts to defer payments to the pension fund and cuts in state aid payments for the current year, the 2009-10 budget, the role of the county superintendent, and much more. Board member Michele Lenhard and Superintendent Dan Fishbein also attended, along with 12 Ridgewood parents, many of whom walked away with more questions than answers about the impact of decisions made in Trenton on us and our budget.

As a follow up to that meeting with the commissioner, Dr. Fishbein suggested two meetings be scheduled for interested parents to talk with him about the state issues and their impact on the school district and our budget. He will meet with interested folks on Monday, March 23 at 1 pm and on Thursday, March 26 at 7 PM. Both meetings will take place at the Ed Center, on the 3rd floor.

Understanding the big picture and the state's role in decisions we make on a local level might help promote more advocacy on educational issues and a better understanding of the challenges we face crafting our school budget. If you'd like to learn more, please attend one of this week's conversations with Dr. Fishbein.

State aid figures released: Ridgewood's increase is $0 (hey, at least it's not a reduction!)

The state aid figures are out and (unless I'm missing something) it appears that Ridgewood will receive the same amount of aid from the state as last year -- $2,985,477. (The numbers announced today do not include Debt Service, Pre-School Aid or Extraordinary Aid.)

Click here to see the announcement on the Department of Education website. Click on "Search for District" and then search for Ridgewood (or check out other districts, if you're interested...I wonder where are those "increases" Governor Corzine mentioned yesterday...)

Always darkest...

I went to the Bergen County School Boards Assoc meeting last night and heard Mr. Michael Vrancik, the NJ School Boards' Assoc Director of Governmental Relations, talk about "Current Issues -- What's Next for School Boards." It was not pretty.

Main messages:

Changing school elections...
Just this week, the Senate Education Committee suddenly placed Bill S1861 (Assembly Bill A15) on its agenda for this Monday 12/8. This bill "Provides for the election of school board members at November general election and eliminates vote on school budgets except for separate proposals to spend above cap which will also occur at general election."

Mr. Vrancik believes the motivation behind rushing to get this into the last 2008 meeting of the Education Committee is to give the Governor more time now to defer making decisions on the state budget. He may even decide to wait until after April when state income tax revenues are known. The Governor probably wants to wait as long as possible to make any commitments to school funding, in order to see how bad things get with the state's economy. He was not sure what this would mean for districts and our budget cycles.

The state will claim that moving the election to November and eliminating budget elections will save $5 million and pat themselves on the back (next year's an election year, remember), but that's a pretty tiny percentage of the state budget.

State of the state economy...
Mr. Vrancik also talked about NJ's fiscal situation. He said the current "best case scenario" is that the state's budget shortfall next year (FY2010) will be $5 billion. He said, "It is almost impossible to imagine that there will not be state cuts to education funding." He predicted flat funding would be the "best case." He also explained how state cuts in things like the Homestead Rebate will adversely affect schools -- those hardest hit by the elimination of the rebates will be seniors, who tend to use that rebate to pay their property tax. Without that help, they will feel even more resentful of property taxes and be more likely to vote against school budgets. (Of course, they won't be voting on budgets if A15 passes! Silver lining? JK)

The school board members present were encouraged folks to contact legislators (supposedly 1/8 of the entire legislature is from Bergen County) to reiterate opposition to moving the School Board elections to November.

All in all it was a thoroughly depressing evening.