On Feb. 23, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) sent a revised calendar to superintendents and school business administrators; the revisions concern school budget procedures and deadlines.

The changes were prompted by the change in date of Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget address from Feb. 27 to March 13. The state Legislature traditionally grants a new governor extra time before a budget must be presented to the lawmakers.

The change in date of the budget address also changes the date of the subsequent notification to school districts of their state aid figures – districts must be notified of state aid figures within two days of the budget address. So districts won’t learn of their state aid figures until mid-March.

NJDOE’s revised calendar provides local boards of education and boards of school estimate extra time to submit budgets to the NJDOE’s County Office of Education:

Below are the changes:

  • Type II (elected board) districts with an April Election (including regional school districts) moved from March 8, to March 20;
  • Type II (elected board) districts with a November election (including regional school districts) moved from March 20 to March 29;
  • Type I (appointed board) districts moved from March 8 to March 22;
  • School districts under state intervention moved from March 8 to March 22;
  • County vocational districts moved from March 8 to March 22;
  • County special services school districts moved from March 8 to March 22; and
  • Educational services commissions moved from March 12 to March 26

The full text of the memo sent to school districts can be viewed online here. The NJDOE’s School Finance webpage contains the revised 2018 School Election and Budget Procedures Calendar.