Search
Action Alert: For Our Catholic Schools
-
May 8, 2019
ISSUE: The accounts for the nonpublic school community were level-funded by Governor Murphy in his Fiscal Year 2020 proposed Budget issued on March 5, 2019. His decision permits us to move forward on additional requests from the Legislature. OUR
POSITION:The New Jersey Catholic Conference and the New Jersey Network of Catholic School Families are asking for the following specific increases in the Fiscal Year 2020 Education Budget. - An increase from $1,000 to $1,040 for the per-pupil ceiling for nonpublic school transportation in order to provide opportunities for students to receive rides to school.
- An increase from $97 per pupil to $125 per pupil for nonpublic school nursing services to provide additional hours for nurses in nonpublic schools and to cover the needs specified by recent legislation with respect to the requirements for improved student health.
- An increase in the funding for Compensatory Education (remedial Reading, Mathematics, and Language Arts) from $995.33 to $1,100. The former figure is in Budget language and limits service providers to that amount.
ACTION: Call, email, or speak directly with legislators regarding these requests. Use the Talking Points that are included with this Alert to describe the problems and highlight the issues with your own school’s experiences. This should be a repeated process continued until mid-June by all members supportive of nonpublic school education. School field trips to Trenton during the next two months should include materials delivered to key members of the Legislature (including the legislators in your respective districts). Please note the following:
- The key members for contact are those legislators on the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Budget Committee. Particular attention should be given to the Democratic members because they have the power to submit Budget Modifications for final approval.
- If legislators in your district do not sit on either Committee, please ask them to relay your concerns to a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee or the Assembly Budget Committee. The members normally are sensitive to those requests from their own constituents.
You may use the New Jersey Catholic Conference Faith in Action - Voter Voice system which can be accessed at:
https://www.votervoice.net/NJCC/Campaigns/64955/Respond - An increase from $1,000 to $1,040 for the per-pupil ceiling for nonpublic school transportation in order to provide opportunities for students to receive rides to school.