STATE LAW 1701

Chapter 73, Public Laws of 2004 (“S-1701”) is legislation from the New Jersey Treasury Department, which will have an onerous impact on education as the public knows and expects. 

S-1701 was signed into effect only after a three-day period in June 2004.  The initial concept behind this Treasury bill was to circumvent a way to get property taxes to decline.  However, this legislation will drastically alter all New Jersey school districts financial practices, therefore impacting education as communities know and expect and in fact, could result in property tax increases.

This legislation will force local school districts to adopt imprudent practices and will diminish communities’ discretion over the financial operations of their schools.  S-1701 will also force school districts to reduce free balance (surplus) to such low levels that districts, including our own, may be forced to cut educational programs, staff, courtesy busing and any or all extracurricular activities.

Community members can contact their elected officials concerning their apprehension towards State Law 1701.  The following links contain two different sample letters that community members can use as a reference when drafting correspondence to state lawmakers regarding S-1701 (Sample Letter #1  & Sample Letter #2).  To locate the address of your local official visit: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp 

Further information regarding S-1701 can be obtained by visiting the New Jersey School Boards Association’s web site at www.njsba.org.