STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator RONALD L. RICE
District 28 (Essex)
Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Weinberg
SYNOPSIS
Establishes the “Private Investment in Public Education Fund.”
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act establishing the “Private Investment in Public Education Fund” and supplementing chapter 7A 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. There is established in the Department of Education a fund which shall be entitled the “Private Investment in Public Education Fund.” The fund shall be maintained in a separate account and administered by the Commissioner of Education to carry out the provisions of this section. The fund shall consist of: (1) any monies privately donated to school districts that are under partial or full State intervention, including any unspent monies donated to such a school district prior to the effective date of this act; and (2) all interest and investment earnings received on monies in the fund.
b. A school district that is under partial or full State intervention which receives a donation of funds from a private person or entity shall forward the donation to the commissioner for deposit into the fund. In order to subsequently withdraw the funds, the superintendent of schools of the district shall, with the approval of the board of education, apply to the commissioner for the withdrawal. In the case of a donation made to the district for a specific purpose, the application shall demonstrate that the withdrawn funds shall be used for that purpose. In the case of a donation made for any purpose, the application shall state the intended use of the funds.
c. Upon the receipt and deposit of a donation, the department and the school district which receives the donation shall post on their websites the following information:
(1) the name of the donor, including whether the donor is non-profit or for-profit, the names of the members of the board of directors of the private entity, and the name of the executive director or the corporate executive officer of the private entity; and
(2) the intended purpose of the donation.
Upon the withdrawal of funds in accordance with subsection b. of this section, the department and the district shall update their websites to include information on the date of withdrawal and the intended use of the funds.
d. The commissioner shall biannually submit to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), a report on any activity associated with the deposit and disbursement of funds from the “Private Investment in Public Education Fund.”
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes in the Department of Education the “Private Investment in Public Education Fund.” The fund will be maintained in a separate account and administered by the Commissioner of Education. The fund shall consist of: (1) any monies privately donated to school districts that are under partial or full State intervention, including any unspent monies donated to such a school district prior to the effective date of the bill; and (2) all interest and investment earnings received on monies in the fund.
A school district that is under partial or full State intervention which receives a donation of funds from a private person or entity must forward the donation to the commissioner for deposit into the fund. In order to subsequently withdraw the funds, the superintendent of schools of the district, with the approval of the board of education, must apply to the commissioner for the withdrawal. Upon the receipt and deposit of a donation, the department and a school district which receives the donation must post on their websites the name of the donor, and the intended purpose of the donation.
The purpose of this bill is to ensure the oversight and transparency of private funding to school districts under partial or full State intervention.