N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:23A-12.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 6A:23A-12.1 - Voter authorization to exceed tax levy limitation; separate proposal(s)

(a) A district board of education may put to voters the matter of exceeding the tax levy limitation, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:7-8.m, 18A:7F-5.d(9), and 39.c.

1. The proposal(s) to increase the tax levy shall be approved if a majority of the people voting at the school election votes in the affirmative or, when applicable, approved by a majority of a quorum of the board of school estimate.

2. A proposal(s) submitted to voters shall not include any program(s) or service(s) necessary for students to achieve the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.

3. A proposal(s) submitted to voters shall not include any capital outlay(s) necessary for health and safety reasons or that constitutes eligible costs of a T&E construction project.

4. A proposal(s) submitted to voters shall not include any existing program(s) or service(s) included in the prebudget year except when documented to the executive county superintendent's satisfaction that reallocation is required to maintain or achieve T&E or that such programs and services are not necessary for T&E.

5. A district board of education shall frame each question to request sufficient funds to carry out the specific purpose(s) contained therein. A district board of education shall include in the base budget only funds for purposes that can be implemented without the approval of a separate question.

6. All proposals to increase the tax levy shall include interpretive statements specifically identifying the program purposes for which the proposed funds will be used and a clear statement on whether approval will affect only the current year or result in a permanent increase in the levy.

7. The executive county superintendent may prohibit the submission of a separate proposal(s) to voters or board of school estimate if the executive county superintendent determines the school district has not implemented all potential efficiencies in the administrative operations of the school district, when the efficiencies would eliminate the need for the raising of additional general fund tax levy.

8. Any rejection by voters of a school district's separate proposal(s) shall be final and conclusive with no appeal. The municipal governing body(ies) or board of school estimate shall not authorize the raising of additional tax levy upon rejection by voters of a school district's separate proposal(s).

9. A district board of education shall not modify the base budget to execute such purposes pursuant to (a)8 above, except as allowed pursuant to (a)13 below.

10. A district board of education shall use amounts approved by voters or the board of school estimate exclusively for the purpose(s) contained in the associated question.

i. If multiple purposes are approved, a district board of education may approve a transfer of amounts among purposes, if necessary, as long as all purposes in the statement originally approved by voters or board of school estimate can be completed.

11. A district board of education shall maintain a separate accounting of expenditures for each purpose, and shall expend or encumber approved amounts by the end of the school year. For any unexpended or unencumbered balances, the district board of education shall either anticipate such funds as a part of the designated general fund balance of the subsequent school year budget, or reserve and designate such funds in the second subsequent school year budget.

12. A district board of education shall submit to the Commissioner amounts approved by voters or the board of school estimate as part of the final overall budget certified for taxes.

13. Purposes that were rejected by voters may be implemented in the budget year only through a donation or contribution from an external source other than the district board of education and only if implementation will not require any funding by the school district in the budget year and/or subsequent budget years.

(b) For purposes of the tax levy certification, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:22-34, school districts that hold their annual election in November shall base the calculation of half the tax levy on the base budget and not include a separate proposal. A school district with a November-approved separate proposal shall recertify the levy, including the approved separate proposal, within 15 days after the proposal's authorization.

N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:23A-12.1

Administrative Change, 48 N.J.R. 1802(a).

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 1038(a), effective 5/1/2017

Amended by 56 N.J.R. 2141(a), effective 11/4/2024