On Sept. 4, Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law S-2837/ A-4084, which gives school districts without a board of school estimate additional flexibility to submit to the voters of the district at a special school election a separate proposal or proposals for permission to raise additional funds for the subsequent school budget year beyond the district’s authorized tax levy for that year.
Prior law permitted a school district to submit to the voters at the annual school election, a separate question or proposal for permission to raise additional funds for the budget year beyond the district’s authorized tax levy. This new law allows districts to submit proposals to voters at a special school election to raise such additional funds for the subsequent school budget year.
Special school elections may occur in January, March, September and December. A separate proposal or proposals may only be submitted on a date of a special election once during a school year. Submission to the voters of a question for the approval of capital projects on the same special election date as the submission of a separate proposal for additional funds will be permitted.
The New Jersey School Boards Association supported the legislation, which went into effect immediately upon the governor’s approval.
