Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblyman P. CHRISTOPHER TULLY
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Barranco
SYNOPSIS
Makes FY 2022 supplemental appropriation to provide State military impact aid to certain school districts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Supplement to the annual appropriations act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, P.L.2021, c.133.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. In addition to the amounts appropriated under P.L.2021, c.133, the annual appropriations act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, there is appropriated from the Property Tax Relief Fund the following amount for the purpose specified:
34 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
30 Educational, Cultural, and Intellectual Development
31 Direct Educational Services and Assistance
5120 Division of School Finance and Regulatory Services
STATE AID
03-5120 Miscellaneous Grants-in-Aid............................... $1,529,089
(From Property Tax Relief Fund…$1,529,089)
Total State Aid Appropriation,
Direct Educational Services and Assistance... $1,529,089
(From Property Tax Relief Fund…$1,529,089)
State Aid:
03 Stabilization Aid (PTRF)...................... ($1,529,089)
Of the amount hereinabove appropriated for Stabilization Aid, $1,529,089 is appropriated for the purpose of providing State military impact aid pursuant to P.L.2021, c.283 (C.18A:7F-71) to eligible school districts that have not already received a fiscal year 2022 allocation of State military impact aid prior to the enactment of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides a supplemental appropriation from the Property Tax Relief Fund in the amount of $1,529,089 to provide State aid to certain military-impacted districts. This amount is added to the fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriation for Stabilization Aid in the Department of Education.
The FY 2022 appropriations act includes $50 million for Stabilization Aid. Budgetary footnote language stipulates that, of the amount appropriated for Stabilization Aid, such amounts as are necessary will be allocated to provide State aid to military-impacted school districts. The footnote language stipulating the eligibility criteria for, and the calculation of, the State military impact aid were codified in State law as P.L.2021, c.283.
Under the footnote language and P.L.2021, c.283, a school district is eligible for military impact aid if it received a Basic Support Payment of federal Impact Aid in the prior fiscal year and the district provides free public education to federally connected children whose parents are on active duty in the uniformed services. To determine the amount of aid a district would receive, a per pupil general fund tax levy amount would be calculated by dividing the prior fiscal year general fund tax levy by resident enrollment, without the inclusion of federally connected children whose parents are on active duty in the uniformed services. A per pupil federal impact aid amount would also be calculated by dividing the amount of a school district’s federal Basic Support Payment received in the prior fiscal year by the number of federally connected children whose parents are on active duty in the uniformed services. The difference between these two per pupil amounts would then be multiplied by the number of federally connected children whose parents are on active duty in the uniformed services. If the difference is calculated as negative, then a school district would not receive military impact aid.
This supplemental appropriation would be provided to ensure that the Rockaway Township School District and the Tinton Falls School District, both of which have not yet received military impact aid in FY 2022, are allocated military impact aid in the amounts of $776,515 and $752,574, respectively.