New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 6A - EDUCATION › Chapter 23A - FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND BUDGETING PROCEDURES › Subchapter 9 - EXECUTIVE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT BUDGET REVIEW PROCEDURES › Section 6A:23A-9.3 - Efficiency standards for review of administrative and non-instructional expenditures and efficient business practices

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) For purposes of
				executive county superintendent budget reviews, pursuant to
				N.J.A.C.
				6A:23A-9.1 through 9.5, the standards and
				requirements set forth in this section shall apply.
(b) In determining whether a school district
				has implemented all potential administrative efficiencies and/or eliminated all
				excessive non-instructional costs, the executive county superintendent shall
				consider the efficiency standards and Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending
				indicators in (c) below as guidelines and applied based on school
				district-specific circumstances, including, but not limited to, the school
				district's spending relative to its adequacy budget and the school district's
				results on NJQSAC and other measures of efficiency and effectiveness. The
				executive county superintendent shall also consider the impact on the stability
				of school district operations given the need for long-term planning and
				budgeting to meet the standards and indicators, school district-specific cost
				factors beyond the school district's control and any phase-in period needed to
				implement any efficiency(ies) the executive county superintendent deems
				feasible based on the standards and indicators in (c) below.
(c) Efficient administrative and
				non-instructional costs shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
1. Resources and costs that are equal to or
				less than the "efficiency standards" established pursuant to
				18A:7F-46 and defined in
				6A:23A-1.2;
2. Indicators from the Taxpayers' Guide to
				Education Spending for school districts' operating type and enrollment range
				indexed to the budget year by the applicable growth in the CPI as follows:
i. Administrative cost per pupil equal to or
				less than the State median;
ii.
				Support services cost per pupil equal to or less than the State
				median;
iii. Operation and
				maintenance of plant cost per pupil equal to or less than the State
				median;
iv. A ratio of students to
				administrative personnel equal to or more than the State average;
v. A ratio of faculty to administrative
				personnel equal to or more than the State average; and
vi. A ratio of students to educational
				support personnel equal to or more than the State average;
3. Custodians and janitors on a ratio of one
				for every 17,500 square feet of building space calculated on a districtwide
				basis;
4. A transportation
				efficiency rating equal to or more than 120 percent;
5. Overtime pay for any given function of 10
				percent or less of regular wages for that function;
6. School district participation in the SHBP
				or SEHBP that permits employees with other health care coverage to waive health
				care coverage and may pay consideration pursuant to
				N.J.S.A.
				52:14-17.31a;
7. School districts with two or more
				buildings or buildings configured by two or more grade spans (for example,
				kindergarten through five, six through eight, or nine through 12) that
				established a tiered system of pupil transportation or demonstrate that doing
				so would not result in savings or would be more costly. Any school district
				that does not have a tiered system of student transportation and cannot
				demonstrate that such a system would not result in savings or would be more
				costly shall submit to the executive county superintendent a plan to establish
				a tiered system of pupil transportation;
8. Vacant positions budgeted at no more than
				step one of the salary guide unless justification for the additional amount has
				been approved by the Department;
9.
				Aides not mandated by law or required by an IEP, only when supported by
				independent research-based evidence that demonstrates the use of aides is an
				effective and efficient way of addressing the needs of the particular student
				population served;
10. The food
				service fund is self-sufficient and does not require a contribution from the
				general fund budget;
11. The school
				district solicits competitive proposals with fee quotes or uses a comparable
				process to ensure the school district receives the highest quality services at
				a fair and competitive price prior to the award of contracts for professional
				services;
12. Textbook purchases
				meet one of the following conditions:
i. The
				purchase is in accordance with a textbook replacement plan;
ii. Textbooks have been identified as stolen
				or destroyed;
iii. A change in
				curriculum or new edition requires a new textbook; or
iv. The current supply of a textbook
				edition(s) is not adequate due to enrollment increases;
13. Library books, magazine subscriptions,
				video tapes, and DVDs are for educational purposes; and
14. Public relations services are
				incorporated into the duties of the superintendent, SBA, and/or other staff
				position(s) and are not provided by a dedicated public relations staff position
				or contracted service provider. Public relations functions as defined in (c)14i
				and ii below should not comprise more than 50 percent of the duties of any one
				staff position.
i. For the purpose of this
				paragraph, public relations services include activities directly relating to
				promotional efforts that advance a particular position and/or communicate
				information to the news media and school district community at large through
				means such as press releases, press conferences, newsletters, flyers, mass
				community mailings and emails, television and radio broadcasting, and
				school-related community events.
ii. Public relations activities do not
				include activities such as crisis communications, website maintenance, data
				collection and dissemination, school operations, and development of the school
				district calendar or handbook.