This article examines how school boards in New Jersey navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, which also coincided with the national trauma and reactions related to the George Floyd murder and subsequent backlash. The politicization of issues during that first year of the pandemic foreshadowed profound changes in the world of many school boards in New…

For much of the last two decades, beginning with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2002, the top political leaders have shown concern about children stuck in failing public schools. NCLB required districts to do something -- not enough, but something -- about those schools. Millions of children still languish in low-performing schools,…

This article examines the legal and political significance of teacher unionization in rural and suburban school districts between 1960 and 1975. While most historians focus on the growth of unions in urban areas, strikes in outlying districts played a determinative role in the development of public sector labor law, particularly in the arbitration…

Almost every day, it seems, school districts coping with budget shortfalls are announcing freezes or cuts to administrative salaries and benefits as part of the solution, a trend that began during the past school year and is becoming more prevalent around the country. Salaries, which account for more than 70 percent of some school budgets, have…

During the past several decades the demand for school accountability has increased, with much of the attention and pressure on school leaders, particularly the public school superintendent. Since the 1950's, there has been a marked decline in the average longevity of superintendents in a district which changed from an average of 20-plus years to…

This handbook was written to help school boards conduct routine business meetings more efficiently, and thereby improve their ability to reach constructive decisions and solve problems. After a brief introduction, the first chapter focuses on organizing the new school board, electing officers, adopting policies, and appointing committees. The…

This is the 16th publication in an annual series intended to provide New Jersey board members and administrators who are representing their district in negotiations with the latest information on legal developments affecting negotiations, practical advice on bargaining strategy and tactics, and a handy source of reference for important case law.…

The increasingly politicized environment of schools should be examined in the context of the board of education's legal powers and the politics of education. Historically, the superintendent of schools has dominated policy making, though school boards' influence has been noted in areas such as finance and physical facilities, and in smaller…

This publication, a resource for board of education presidents in the State of New Jersey, covers a wide range of topics pertaining to the board president's duties. Separate sections are devoted to the following: (1) the code of ethics for New Jersey board members; (2) statutory responsibilities of a board of education president; (3) an opinion…

This book provides basic information for new board of education members on a wide range of issues that have turned up on board of education agendas in New Jersey over the past 10 years. Separate sections are devoted to the following: (1) the New Jersey School Boards Association's code of ethics for board members; (2) the governance of New Jersey…

With patience and savvy, superintendents can recover from the sting of dismissal. Incumbents should be alert to warning signs, such as decreasing board-superintendent communications and board rejection of superintendent recommendations. Sidebars offer tips on fighting back with good cause, obtaining legal support, and surviving the endgame. (MLH)

The former state-appointed superintendent of the Paterson District in New Jersey states that, according to law, in the fifth year after a takeover, anyone may run for any vacant seat on the board. Argues that the state should have some type of permanent oversight responsibility when the district is returned to local control. A sidebar reflects a…

This paper recounts the controversy surrounding the development and implementation of alternate route teacher certification in New Jersey. The opposing forces in the debate were the governor and the commissioner of education versus education professors and teacher unions. The debate is presented as an uneven conflict in which the forces of the…

If the notion of public and private spheres seems somehow quaint or old-fashioned, the distinction between public and private corporations will be that much more obscure. Yet Channel One broadcasts in a public school classroom are indisputably the result of a contract between a private corporation (Alloy Media + Marketing) and a public corporation…

Increasingly, states are restricting tuition growth through political pressure and statewide governing and coordinating boards. During the 1990s, California, Virginia, and New York all cut or restrained tuition, and recently Michigan, Florida, Illinois, and New Jersey have restricted tuition growth either through legislation or intense…