Provides emergency State school aid to certain school districts located in historic communities.

A1082

ASSEMBLY, No. 1082

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

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PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ROBERT D. CLIFTON

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Assemblyman WILLIAM W. SPEARMAN

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

SYNOPSIS

���� Provides emergency State school aid to certain school
districts located in historic communities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning emergency State school aid for certain
school districts and supplementing chapter 58 of Title 18A of the New Jersey
Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� For the 2019-2020
through 2024-2025 school years, the Commissioner of Education shall provide
emergency aid to a school district, upon the school district�s submission of an
application for the emergency aid, if:

���� (1)�� the school district is
located in a municipality listed on the national and State registers of
historic places;

���� (2)�� the school district is
comprised of only one school building that was originally built by the federal
government and will revert to the federal government if the school building
ceases to operate;

���� (3)�� the students enrolled in
the school district demonstrate a high level of academic achievement;

���� (4)�� the school district
demonstrates that without the emergency aid, the district is at risk of closing
its school building, and the closure of the building will have a negative
impact, not only on the students who attend the school, but on the quality of life
of the residents of the community at large and the historic legacy of the
community; and

���� (5)�� the school district is
subject to reductions in State aid pursuant to the provisions of subsection b.
of section 4 of P.L.2018, c.67 (C.18A:7F-68), and those reductions have
directly impacted the ability of the school district to continue to operate the
school building.

���� b.��� The commissioner shall
review the school district�s application for emergency aid, and if the
application adequately demonstrates that the school district meets the criteria
established pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the commissioner shall
provide the school district with emergency aid in an amount equal to the school
district�s reduction in State aid for that budget year.

���� Prior to making a
determination, the commissioner may request that the district provide such
additional supporting information and documentation as the commissioner deems
necessary.

���� c.���� A school district that
seeks emergency aid pursuant to this section shall submit a separate emergency
aid application for each school year.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes a
process for the allocation of emergency aid to school districts that have a
single school building that has a significant historic legacy, and the
reduction in State aid to that school district may result in the closure of the
school building and consequently the loss of that legacy.

���� Under the bill�s provisions,
upon the submission of an application, the Commissioner of Education will
provide emergency aid for the 2021-2022 through 2026-2027 school years to a
school district that meets the following criteria:

�

The school
district is located in a municipality listed on the national and State
registers of historic places;

�

The school
district is comprised of only one school building that was originally built by
the federal government and will revert to the federal government if the school
building ceases to operate;

�

The students
enrolled in the school district demonstrate a high level of academic
achievement;

�

The school
district demonstrates that without the emergency aid, the district is at risk
of closing its school building, and the closure of the building will have a
negative impact on the students, the residents of the community at large, and
the historic legacy of the community;

�

The school
district is subject to reductions in State aid under P.L.2018, c.67
(C.18A:7F-67 et al.), and those reductions have directly impacted the ability
of the school district to continue to operate the school building.

���� The commissioner will review
the school district�s application and may ask for any additional supporting
information and documentation that he deems necessary.� If the application and
information adequately demonstrates that the school district meets the
criteria, the commissioner will provide emergency aid in an amount equal to the
school district�s reduction in State aid for that budget year.

���� The provision of emergency aid
under this bill addresses the fact that some school districts face unique
circumstances and that it is in the best interests of the State to recognize
and address those circumstances.