INFORMATION ITEM

MEMORANDUM

Attached are the reports from the following officers:

President

Vice President for County Activities

Vice President for Finance

Vice President for Legislation/Resolutions

Immediate Past President

To: Officers, Board of Directors Members/Alternates

From: Lawrence S. Feinsod, Ed.D., Executive Director

Date: January 17, 2020

Re: NJSBA President and Officers’ Reports

New Jersey School Boards Association

Board of Directors Meeting

Report of the President

Mike McClure

January 17, 2020

Association Activities/Meetings Attended

November 11 - attended the Lee Group Meeting, which was a very productive. The group is

putting together a letter in support of eliminating the 2 percent tax levy cap for those school

districts who experienced reduced school aid funding.

November 19 - Dr. Feinsod and I attended the League of Municipalities Conference in

Atlantic City. Both Dr. Feinsod and I presented on shared services with School Districts and

Municipalities. The program was well attended.

November 23 - attended the NJSBA Delegate Assembly. Over 240 delegates and guests

attended. Senate President Steve Sweeney was our guest speaker. Senator Sweeney made a

presentation on school funding, as well as other education issues. He answered a wide range

of questions from the delegates, and he stayed after adjournment to talk with individual board

members.

November 25 - attended the Cumberland/Salem County School Boards Association program

on mental health. As always, the meeting was well attended by representative of both

Counties.

December 4 - attended the Burlington County SBA program on Understanding State

Assessments. Diana Pasculli, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, gave a very informative

presentation. Many questions were asked and there was strong attendee participation.

December 12 - attended the NJSBA Legislative Committee meeting in Trenton. Karen

Cortelino, vice president for legislation/resolutions ran another great meeting. Mr. Sean

Hopkins from NJHA spoke about immunizations. It was an informative presentation to a

packed house.

December 9 - attended the 2019 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award ceremony in

Trenton. NJSBA received an award for supporting health and sustainable communities in the

Health and Sustainability Category. I accepted the award along with Dr. Larry Feinsod and

John Henry, NJSBA’s STEAM & Sustainable Schools Specialist. I was very proud to accept

this award in recognition of the years of hard work by John Henry and his staff. When I

returned to headquarters that day, I thanked everyone involved for a job well done.

December 10 - attended the Camden/Gloucester County SBA meeting, where William Donio

presented a program on Board Members Use of Social Media. Many questions were asked

and very good points were made. This meeting, as always, was very well attended.

January 7 - attended the Executive Committee meeting where we heard reports from all the

department directors. In particular, staff provided updates on the new data management

system, the progress of Workshop 2020, and the sales of Basic School Law 2019, which are

going very well.

January 8 – attended the State Board meeting with Dr. Larry Feinsod to accept the resolution

proclaiming January as School Board Recognition Month. I could not be more proud to

accept this from State Board President Kathy Goldenberg and the Commissioner of

Education Dr. Lamont Repollet. I thanked them all for recognizing the nearly 5000 school

board members across the state for their service to the children of New Jersey.

January 14 – Dr. Feinsod and I attended the State-of-the-State address by Governor Murphy.

It was nice to be there to represent the NJSBA membership. I would like to thank our GR

department for giving us this seat at the table. It is through their hard work that we are

afforded this opportunity.

January 14 - attended the Cumberland/Salem County meeting with Dr. Larry Feinsod. During

the program, Larry spoke about the Mental Health Task Force report. Terry Lewis, field

service representative, presented a session on the Fundamentals of School Finance. Vince

DeLucia presented, Fundamentals of Student Achievement. John Burns, counsel, presented

Advancements in School Law.

As I have said before, Dr. Feinsod and I work very closely on a daily bases to address the many

education issues and challenges facing our members. Dr. Feinsod and the NJSBA staff work very

hard to better our Association, including the development of the Mental Health Committee. Thirty-

nine members have volunteered to participate on the Committee. It was very nice to see that kind of

response from our members on this issue. I continue to assist Dr. Feinsod and our NJSBA staff to

keep moving the Association from good to great.

Thank you

Michael McClure. President

New Jersey School Boards Association

Board of Directors Meeting

Report of the Vice President for County Activities

Bruce Young

January 17, 2020

Association Activities/Meetings Attended

Cumberland and Salem County School Boards Association meeting on mental health and

wellness

Clifton Board of Education meeting to recognize Judy Bassford as the 2019-2020 School

Board Member of the Year

NJSBA’s November Delegate Assembly

Bergen County School Boards Association meeting also on the subject of mental health

with a presentation from school district superintendents in Bergen County.

Warren County SBA presentation of Foundations

Ocean County SBA also on the subject of Foundations, and to acknowledged the

outgoing President Jackie Bermudez.

Middlesex County SBA program on mindfulness

Mahwah Board Of Education meeting on December 18, along with Dr Larry Feinsod, to

recognize Peter Wendrychowicz for his 30 years of service on the Mahwah Board of

Education. There was a great turnout including his friends and family. Dr Feinsod

presented Peter with a certificate of appreciation for his service, and Dr Feinsod and I

both spoke about Peter’s commitment to the children of Mahwah and the state of New

Jersey. Peter will retire as of January 1. 2020.

There were great end-of-year training opportunities for all the county school board associations,

and I look forward to another great year in representing the counties in 2020. I wish everyone a

great 2020.

New Jersey School Boards Association

Board of Directors Meeting

Report of the Vice President for Finance

Tammeisha Smith

January 17, 2020

Association Finance

Through November 2019 (five months), NJSBA has had favorable results versus its budget,

primarily due to:

Workshop 2019 – exceeded its budget for revenues from registrations, commercial

exhibitors and sponsorships.

Superintendent searches (fee-based service)

Strategic plans (another fee-based service)

Temporary help expenses– Minimal temporary services needed through November.

New Jersey informed NJSBA that its required, annual employer’s cash contribution to the Public

Employee Retirement System (PERS) will decrease by $67K from the payment made in 2019.

2020 – 2021 Budget

We are immersed in next year’s budget process.

The Executive Director & Finance Director are meeting individually with each department

head to review their revenue projections and funding needs. These meetings will be

completed by late January.

The consolidated budget will be reviewed with the Finance Committee on February 27th.

The proposed 2020 – 2021 budget will then be presented to the NJSBA Board at its March

20th meeting.

Association Activities/Meetings Attended

November 15 - NJSBA Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting as Vice President of Finance.

November 21 - Hunterdon County SBA meeting on planning for the 2020 Census by Dr. Allison

Jackson., and a presentation on a Holistic Approach to Mindfulness by Danielle Stanley, LCSW.

November 23 - semi-annual Delegate Assembly. We were pleased to have Senate President Steve

Sweeney join us and take questions from the audience. At the DA we overwhelming passed a

resolution on a Cap Relief Bill. Unfortunately, on 1/13/2020 Governor Murphy’s office vetoed Cap

Relief Bill S-4289.

December 4 - Warren County SBA meeting on the Fundamentals of School Finance, Fundamentals

of Student Achievement and Advancements in School Law.

December 7 - Legislative Committee meeting.

December 9 - Cape May County SBA Meeting. There was a discussion on Branding and

Communication. Also newly elected LD1 Assemblymen Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan

attended the meeting.

December 11 - Essex County SBA meeting on Mental Health. It was also bittersweet as the last

meeting for West Orange BOE member Sandra Mordecai and West Essex BOE member Judith

Amorim Dias.

December 19 - Sussex County SBA meeting on Working Together to Address Difficult Education

Issues in the County.

December 20 - NJSBA staff holiday party. A great time was had by all.

January 6 - re-organization meeting at my local district, Knowlton Township BOE in Warren

County, where I was re-elected as Board President.

January 7 - Executive Committee meeting to set the agenda for the Board of Directors Meeting on

January 17th. We heard reports from all our department directors.

January 13 - Hudson County SBA meeting on School Finance and Budget.

New Jersey School Boards Association

Board of Directors Meeting

Report of the Vice President for Legislation/Resolutions

Karen Cortellino, M.D.

January 17, 2020

Legislative Update

The 2018-19 legislative session officially ended at 12 p.m. on January 14. This two-year cycle was

eventful; featuring the amendments to SFRA embodied in the provisions of S-2, as well as the $450

million in facility funding and lead remediation.

The legislature is likely to continue expansion of pre-K programming and expanding the commitment

to funding their share of extraordinary special education, which increased by more than $50 million

over the last two years. Most recently, the legislature addressed relief to local districts that cannot

attain adequacy spending within the two-percent tax levy cap.

End of session activities also featured legislation to require public schools to administer screenings

for depression for students in certain grades. This bill requires a board of education to ensure that

students in grades seven through 12 annually receive a health screening for depression. The

screening will be administered by a qualified professional, including a school psychologist, school

nurse, guidance counselor, student assistance counselor, physician, school social worker or any other

medical or mental health professional, and will consist of the Patient Health Questionnaire or an

equivalent depression screening tool, as determined by the Commissioners of Education and Children

and Families.

The lame-duck legislative session also included consideration of bills that:

Require institutions of higher education and public and nonpublic high schools and middle

schools to adopt anti-hazing policies, expand definitions of activities encompassing criminal

hazing and upgrade penalties for engaging in these activities.

Make apprenticeships more accessible for New Jersey residents through an apprenticeship

pilot program and tuition waivers for apprenticeships. A School Readiness and Workforce

Development Program establishing a five-year, two-generational school readiness and

workforce development pilot program also moved forward.

Eliminate the religious exemption for childhood inoculations. This measure would prevent

students from attending public schools unless they have received the required inoculations

against various childhood diseases.

The legislature is expected to require the coordination of curriculum between sending districts and

regional high schools. Although legislation requiring school district consolidation has not passed,

there is funding for districts to engage consultants for feasibility studies to determine the viability of

merging districts.

On Friday January 10, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ordered plaintiffs suing

the state over persistent segregation in New Jersey schools to notify every district of the lawsuit.

Judge Jacobson also said she wanted to give the state a chance to present experts to respond to the

statistics laid out in the complaint filed in 2018 by a coalition of civil rights advocates and students,

which alleged New Jersey has been “complicit” in maintaining one of the nation’s most segregated

public school systems.

The suit lays out the racial imbalance between districts statewide — noting that a significant and

growing number of black and Latino students attend schools that are almost entirely non-white, even

though they nearly equal the total number of white students statewide.

It faults the state for requiring students to attend schools in the districts where they live and not

taking steps that could reduce segregation, like consolidating districts.

She set a March 20 deadline for districts to file motions to intervene. The nonprofit New Jersey

Charter Schools Association already has intervened on behalf of charters.

This issue, along with the continued phase-out of funding to districts receiving more funding than

required under SFRA will likely dominate the 2020-21 school year and beyond.

Association Activities/Meetings Attended:

November 15 - Board of Directors meeting. We heard a positive audit report from Robert

Butvilla. We also heard a legislative update from Mike Vrancik. Patty Maillet gave an after-

action report for the very successful Workshop 2019. She and her team received high praise

and some suggestions from members.

November 23 - Lead my first Report of the Legislative and Resolutions Committee at the

November Delegate Assembly. We handily adopted one resolution that proposes additional

NJSBA policy allowing districts to exceed the 2 percent cap when it is necessary for the

district to meet their local fair share requirement.

December 7 - Legislative Committee meeting. Presentations included vaccines, preventable

illnesses, vaping and vulnerable communities by Sean Hopkins, senior vice president, Center

for Health, Research & Transformation at the New Jersey Hospital Association; the

upcoming 2020 Census by Mary Coogan, Vice President, Advocates for Children of New

Jersey; and, a legislative update by NJSBA Governmental Relations staff. The Committee

also adopted the 2020-21 Legislative Advocacy Agenda/Action Plan.

December 20 - had the absolute honor of attending the NJSBA Annual Holiday Party for the

staff to say thank you to them for their hard work all year long

December 10 - attended the 3R’s presentation, Northern Region at Parsippany HS. There

were about 80 enthusiastic board members in attendance who heard an excellent presentation

by Kathy Helewa, Matt Lee and Charlene Peterson.

December 12 - the Morris County SBA hosted an excellent presentation on Social Emotional

Learning.

January 16 - the Morris County SBA hosted the Foundations for Success program.

Respectfully submitted,

Karen Cortellino, M.D.

NJSBA, VP Legislation and Resolutions

New Jersey School Boards Association

Board of Directors Meeting

Report of the Immediate Past President

Dan Sinclair

January 17, 2020

This year my focus is primarily on the implementation of the Non-College Bound Learner Task

Force Report. I have been extremely happy about the support that the Association has received from

virtually all of our stake holders, including board of education members, superintendents, union

leaders, department of education, chambers of commerce, teachers and trade schools to name a few .

We are determined, as an association, to move forward to effectively serve the children who desire to

enter the workforce as trained, competent individuals upon graduation from public school. We will

hold our first planning meeting on January 25, 2020, which will guide us going forward.

Again, the interest has been overwhelming. We currently have 97 Ambassadors and the list is

growing on a daily basis. To date, 45 Ambassadors have signed up for our training, which will

include a panel of experts who will present on four vital areas as identified in the Task Force report,

followed by a question and answer period, and finally a planning session, with our panel of experts,

to direct us as we continue forward.

If you have an interest in becoming an Ambassador, please contact me at dsinclair@njsba.org, (201)

739-3284 or Vince DeLucia at vdelucia@NJSBA.org for details. It is not too late to attend the

training session on January 25, either in person or electronically.

Association Activities/Meetings Attended:

November 23 – NJSBA Delegate Assembly

December 3 - Bergen County School Boards Association “Social and Emotional Learning”

December 5 - New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Meeting “Training the Next Generation”

December 7 - Legislative Committee Meeting

December 11 - New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Executive Committee

Meeting ‘Various Athletic Issues”

December 11 - Essex County School Boards Association Meeting

December 12 - Bergen County School Boards Association/Bergen County Business

Administrators Association/Bergen County Superintendents Association Joint

Meeting “Ambassadors Program”

December 13 - Leonia Public Schools, “CTE Program and Teacher Certification”

January 7 - NJSBA Executive Committee Meeting “Board of Directors Planning

Meeting/Departmental Reports”

January 8 - Department of Education/Department of Labor, NJBIA Meeting “Ambassador

Program/Cooperative Information Sharing, CTE and Program Certification,

Perkins Grants”

January 8 - New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Executive Committee

Meeting “Various Athletic Issues.

Respectively Submitted,

Daniel Sinclair

NJSBA Immediate Past President