The meeting of NJSBA’s Board of Directors took place on Friday, March 18, at NJSBA headquarters in Trenton. The agenda included the following:
- Recognized new board of directors member Treemanisha Stewart, representing Cumberland County.
- Approved the NJSBA executive director contract.
- Approved the NJSBA 2016-2017 budget.
- No dues increase for the seventh consecutive year
- Maintains dues-based services
- Decreases reliance on dues by increasing non-dues revenue through initiatives such as the Corporate Partners Program, Workshop sponsorships, and support for county associations and training through ELFNJ fundraising.
- Approved first reading and waived second reading of the revisions to GO/4133.2 and GO/8260 – reimbursement policies.
- Approved the following consent agenda items: resolution of support for John Bulina’s candidacy for a seat on the National School Boards Association Board of Directors as a representative from the Northeast Region; open-session minutes of the Feb. 5 board of directors meeting; closed session minutes of the Feb. 5 Board of Directors meeting; second reading of the revisions to GO/4000 – personnel policies – (4010, 4111, 4111.1, 4111.3).
- Received an update on activities from the NJSBA president, vice president for legislation/resolutions, vice president for finance and immediate past president:
- President – Represented school board members from around the state at the governor’s fiscal year 2017 Budget Address. NJSBA Executive Committee agreed to sell the solar renewal energy credits generated by the solar panels on the roof of the building at 413 West State St. resulting in approximately $30,000 in revenue.
- Immediate Past President – Participated in the March 2016 New Board Member Orientation weekend funded by the Education Testing Service. Invited to a U.S. Army-sponsored trip to Washington, DC, with John Henry, NJSBA STEAM and sustainable schools specialist, to tour Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon and Aberdeen Proving Grounds.
- VP for Legislation/Resolutions – Acknowledged the members of the NJSBA Legislative Committee, Mike Vrancik, NJSBA director of governmental relations and the GR staff for their work and continued support. Attended the NJSBA technology conference, which was very successful. NJSBA Resolution Subcommittee received seven resolutions for consideration by the Delegate Assembly in May.
- VP for Finance – Acknowledged Fran Pullo, NJSBA director of finance, and his staff for their work on the 2016-2017 budget. Reported that the Education Leadership Foundation’s (ELFNJ) had a trustee meeting on Monday, March 14. The Foundation staff’s fundraising efforts are going very well. Thanked the Board of Directors for its support of the 2016-2017 budget and the Audit Committee for its approval of the 2016-2017 audit firm.
- Received an update from the Executive Director:
- During the State Board of Education meeting on March 2, Dr. Feinsod, Commissioner Hespe and the New Jersey Institute of Technology President Joel Bloom announced the Future Ready Schools – New Jersey Project. The program will be a partnership among NJSBA, the NJDOE and NJIT. The program will be launched at Workshop 2016. Future Ready Schools will recognize district efforts to effectively use technology in teaching and learning.
- Sustainable Jersey for Schools program membership stands at 428 schools in 161 districts, representing 28 percent of the state’s school districts.
- On March 1, Commissioner Hespe, Assistant Commissioner Bob Bumpus and top officials of the NJDOE’s Office of School Preparedness and Emergency Planning visited NJSBA to discuss school security concerns. The discussion focused on the need to expand training in school security to all stakeholders, including board members, parents and school district staff. NJSBA is planning to incorporate a module on the local board’s role in school security into its online governance training.
- On June 3, NJSBA will conduct a “School Security and Student Safety Conference” at Mercer County College. Commissioner Hespe and Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan, chair, Assembly Education Committee, will be featured speakers.
- Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and Assemblyman Nicholas Chiavalloti participated in the March 7 Hudson County SBA meeting. On March 9, Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver (former Assembly speaker) and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey participated in the Essex County SBA meeting.
- Acknowledged Anthony Fasano, member, Hopatcong Board of Education and alternate member of the board of directors, representing Sussex County for his eloquent address to the students and other participants at the “Unsung Heroes” recognition program at the Middlesex County SBA meeting on March 2.
- Attended 16 county meetings, with re-visits to four. During the spring will attend meetings in the remaining five counties.
- The U.S. Army is providing a grant of $20,000 for the iSTEAM Command Center at Workshop 2016, that is up from $10,000 last year; ETS again funded NJSBA’s weekend New Board Member Orientation in March, a $40,000 contribution; and the New Jersey Schools Insurance Group will also increase its sponsorship at Workshop from $10,000 to $20,000.
- Met with Mark Biedron, State Board president to discuss the School District Accountability Regulations, which will sunset in November. On February 11, addressed the State Board’s Strategic Planning Committee to present NJSBA’s perspective on the direction of public education, stressing the need to preserve local authority, character education, and STEAM education.
- On Thursday, March 17, NJSBA hosted a cutting-edge program on an issue that is just now being embraced by the corporate sector; Hidden Bias: Gender, Race and Zip Code.
- The advocacy update included a report on the progress of the following legislation/issues: funding disparity, requiring full-day kindergarten, expanding pre-K, school security, adjustment of some school aid numbers, pension underfunding and the proposed constitutional amendment requiring the state to fully fund the pension on a quarterly basis.
- Received a presentation on the new NJSBA website scheduled to be launched shortly.
- The Interactive Discussion focused on the impact on districts of the state accountability regulations.
- Information items included Association financials, legal case summary, written officers’ reports, Resolution Subcommittee list, and GO/4133R and GO/8260R.
New Board of Directors Member
A new member of the NJSBA Board of Directors was sworn in at the March 18 meeting; pictured is Treemanisha Stewart of Fairfield Township Board of Education, representing Cumberland County, with NJSBA President Donald Webster Jr.