N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:23A-22.6

Current through Register Vol. 57, No. 1, January 6, 2025

Section 6A:23A-22.6 - Public relations and professional services; board policies; efficiency

(a) Each charter school and renaissance school project board of trustees shall establish by policy(ies), a strategy(ies) to minimize the cost of public relations, as defined at N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-9.3(c)14, and professional services. The policy(ies) shall include, to the extent practicable and cost effective, but need not be limited to, the following provisions:

1. A maximum dollar limit, established annually prior to budget preparation, for public relations, as defined at N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-9.3(c)14, and each type of professional service, with appropriate notification to the board of trustees if it becomes necessary to exceed the maximum. Upon such notification, the board of trustees may adopt a dollar increase in the maximum amount through formal board action;

2. Establishment of procedures to ensure the prudent use of legal services by employees and board of trustees members and the tracking of the use of those services;

3. Charter schools shall establish procedures to effectively manage legal costs. Procedures may include:

i. A limitation on the number of contact persons with the authority to request services or advice from contracted legal counsel;

ii. Criteria or guidance to prevent the use of legal counsel unnecessarily for management decisions or readily available information contained in charter school materials such as policies, administrative regulations, or guidance available through professional source materials;

iii. A provision that requests for legal advice shall be made in writing and shall be maintained on file in the business office and a process to determine whether the request warrants legal advice or if legal advice is necessary; and

iv. A provision to maintain a log of all legal counsel contact, including name of legal counsel contacted, date of contact, issue discussed, and length of contact. Legal bills shall be compared to the contact log and any variances shall be investigated and resolved;

4. A provision that requires that contracts for legal services comply with payment requirements and restrictions pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:19-1 et seq. and as follows:

i. Advance payments shall be prohibited;

ii. Services to be provided shall be described in detail in the contract;

iii. Invoices for payment shall itemize the services provided for the billing period; and

iv. Payment shall be only for services actually provided;

5. Professional services contracts are issued in a deliberative and efficient manner that ensures the charter school receives the highest quality services at a fair and competitive price or through a shared service arrangement. This may include, but is not limited to, issuance of such contracts through a request for proposals (RFP) based on cost and other specified factors or other comparable process; and

6. Professional services contracts are limited to non-recurring or specialized work for which the charter school does not possess adequate in-house resources or in-house expertise to conduct.

i. Charter schools and renaissance school projects are prohibited from contracting with legal counsel or using in-house legal counsel to pursue any affirmative claim or cause of action on behalf of charter school and renaissance school project administrators and/or any individual board members for any claim or cause of action in which the damages to be awarded would benefit an individual rather than the charter school or renaissance school project as a whole.

ii. Charter school and renaissance school project publications shall be produced and distributed in the most cost-efficient manner possible that will enable the charter school to inform and educate the target community. The use of expensive materials or production techniques where lower cost methods are available and appropriate, such as the use of multicolor glossy publications instead of suitable, less expensive alternatives, is prohibited.

iii. Public relations activities, such as booths at Statewide conferences, marketing activities and celebrations for opening schools and community events, and TV productions that are not part of the instructional program or do not provide, in a cost-effective way, information about charter school or board operations to the public, that are excessive in nature are prohibited. All activities involving promotional efforts to advance a particular position on elections or any referenda are prohibited.

iv. Nothing in this section shall preclude boards of trustees from accepting donations or volunteer services from community members, local private education foundations, and local business owners to conduct or assist in public relations services. Examples include, but are not limited to:

(1) Providing charter school and renaissance school project flyers, newsletters, or other materials containing charter school or renaissance school project related information of public concern to local businesses, public meeting places, or other local organizations to display or make available for dissemination;

(2) Making charter school and renaissance school project related information of public concern available to local newspapers to publish related articles; and

(3) Utilizing volunteered services of local community members, charter school and renaissance school project employees, members of parent organizations, or local businesses with expertise in related areas such as printing, advertising, publishing, or journalism.

N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:23A-22.6

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 1079(a), effective 5/1/2017

Amended by 49 N.J.R. 2521(a), effective 8/7/2017

Amended by 56 N.J.R. 2166(a), effective 11/4/2024