What’s Important to Know About NJ This Week – 02/17/2024

Feb 17, 2024

Property Taxes May Increase Due to School Aid Cuts, Drug Overdose Deaths on the Decline, Don’t Knock Mississippi, Prisoner Suicides Lead To Questions

Towns Facing School Aid Cuts Might Get A Green Light to Increase Property Taxes

New Jersey Monitor

Senate lawmakers approved a bill Thursday allowing school districts facing state aid cuts in the current or coming school year to exceed the state’s 2% cap on property tax hikes.

The measure, which cleared the committee in a bipartisan 4-1 vote, is an effort to ease schools through funding transitions under a 2018 bill that phased out state assistance to some school districts as New Jersey moved to implement the school funding formula it enacted in 2008. The 2018 bill is known widely by its bill number, S2. Read More

Drug Overdose Deaths in NJ Down

northjersey.com

The number of drug overdose deaths in New Jersey dropped significantly in 2023 after years of surging during the opioid crisis, state officials announced Thursday.

There were 2,564 suspected overdose deaths in 2023, down from 3,054 confirmed in 2022, according to data from the state police and the state Health Department. Read More

Mississippi Might Be a Model for NJ Schools

NJ Education Report

There are two ways Mississippi is a model for rigorous screening of prospective teachers, one that NJ should emulate. First, we should model our teacher preparation programs so that prospective teachers receive a thorough preparation in the science of reading. Second, Mississippi’s test to use to gauge prospective teachers’ proficiency in reading instruction is much more reliable than New Jersey’s. Read More

Questions on Prisoner Treatment Arise After Two Suicides

NJ Spotlight

Two recent suicides at the New Jersey State Prison have led to renewed questions over whether the state Department of Corrections is following the three-year old law that limits the time inmates can be held in what used to be called solitary confinement.

A 36-year-old man, said to be suffering from mental illness, died by suicide last month, according to sources familiar with the corrections system who spoke on condition of anonymity. Read More