MORRIS COUNTY — “School districts shouldn’t have to choose between funding special education programs or providing services to other students,” Pennacchio said. “With extraordinary special education costing enormous amount of dollars, we must ensure every child has an equal educational opportunity without negatively impacting a school’s budget. My proposal would make certain that our most vulnerable students, regardless of their zip code, are provided with the resources they need to succeed.”

Pennacchio’s bipartisan legislation, S-3758, would shift special education costs away from school districts and to the State.

If a school district anticipates that the cost of providing special education and related services included in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) will exceed $55,000, that student would be considered to require a high needs placement. A school district would forward the IEP to the newly created Office of High Needs Placement Funding within the Department of Education. That office would be responsible for entering into contracts with, and making payments to, providers of the special education and related services for these students.

The bill establishes a High Needs Placement Committee in the Office of High Needs Placement Funding. The committee members will include the commissioner and State Treasurer, or their designees, and 15 public members.

Under current law, extraordinary special education costs aid is awarded to school districts as a reimbursement of costs incurred in the prior school year in educating individual special education students whose costs exceed certain thresholds. Unfortunately, the State has not been reliable in fulfilling this important responsibility, and the program is only 65% funded in the current fiscal year. This bill eliminates this category of State aid, instead making the State responsible for 100% of these extraordinary special education costs and making it impossible to shirk their responsibility.

According to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, more than half of a New Jersey homeowner’s property tax bill supports their local school districts. Senator Pennacchio believes that this legislation will provide providing significant relief to property taxpayers.

“The property tax crisis that many rural and suburban homeowners face is the result of a flawed school aid formula that provides little state aid to many of those school districts,” Pennacchio added. “Enacting this reform will lower property taxes, improve the quality of education, and protect New Jersey’s special education children. It truly begins the process of funding all of our children the same regardless of their zip code.”

This legislation is also part of a comprehensive and bipartisan “Path to Progress” bill package aimed at implementing essential fiscal reforms that will help to hold the line on spending and taxes. This Legislature took a first step in in this year’s budget by appropriating an additional $55 million dollars to reimburse a greater portion of the extraordinary special education costs incurred by school districts.

“I want to thank Senate President Sweeney for his commitment to help our most vulnerable students,” Pennacchio added. “I look forward to this bill passing the Legislature and becoming law this fall, and towards that, I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues, the Assembly, the Murphy Administration, and special education advocates to ensure that this bill is done right – truly protecting our most vulnerable children.”

MORRIS COUNTY — Morris County Surrogate Candidate Heather Darling visited the Daily Plan It in Morristown on Tuesday, July 9. The Daily Plan It is a business service provider offering mail and meeting room packages to businesses that do not need full-time dedicated office space. More importantly, while providing services to the business community, the Daily Plan It has a bigger purpose; to train and employ citizens with disabilities so that they are empowered through their contributions to society.

The environment at the Daily Plan It provides a professional setting for businesses while, at the same time, incorporates the perfect environment, equipment and support for the very specific needs of the individuals working within the business.

The Daily Plan It, Presents of Mind and Vaseful are New Jersey businesses created by Community Options Enterprises, Inc.; a non-profit organization whose mission includes developing and operating businesses that offer training and employment opportunities to people with disabilities. The goal of Community Options Enterprises, Inc. is to give disabled citizens an opportunity to contribute to society which, in turn, allows them to enjoy the same sense of pride and accomplishment that others obtain from their careers.

The importance of self-worth to individuals with disabilities is as important for any other segment of the population. Working offers individuals with special-needs a chance to develop their talents and expand into other job opportunities, gives a sense of financial independence, and helps them to connect socially.

MORRIS COUNTY — It’s that time of year again! In honor of its namesake date—and its birthday — 7-Eleven is giving away free Slurpees on Thursday, July 11. The tradition has been around for well over a decade, with the first 7-Eleven Day taking place back in 2002 as a way to celebrate the convenience store’s 75th birthday. Come 2019, the store is the ripe old age of 92 and you can once again get a free cold drink in honor of the occasion.

So as to rein in the chaos, there are a few rules you should be aware of, starting with the time limits. It’s easy enough to remember: Free Slurpees are available while supplies last between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Thursday.

MORRIS COUNTY — County College of Morris (CCM), recognized as a leader in the education of employees for advanced manufacturing, has been awarded a $4 million grant from the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) to expand apprenticeship programs for the industry.

The USDOL’s Scaling Apprenticeship Through Sector-Based Strategies grant program focuses on advancing the development of apprenticeship programs in three areas: advanced manufacturing, information technology and health care. The program supports partnerships among educational institutions and the private and public sectors. These partnerships will create apprenticeship models to close the skills gap by providing key training and job placement opportunities and strengthening pathways into the workforce.

As a grant recipient, CCM will lead a consortium of New Jersey community colleges to build a network of apprenticeship programs in advanced manufacturing as part of a project called Career Advance USA. CCM was one of only 23 academic institutions nationwide to receive the USDOL grant.

“With more than 7,000 manufacturers in New Jersey, the apprenticeship program will help bridge the gap to create a skilled workforce in entering a critically important industry in New Jersey,” said CCM President Anthony J. Iacono. “The USDOL grant further supports and strengthens our mission to be one of New Jersey’s major economic engines.”

“This grant award to support manufacturing apprenticeships is a great step forward for New Jersey’s knowledge economy,” said New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Zakiya Smith Ellis. “The apprenticeship model offers a unique opportunity to blend classroom learning with direct workplace experience in a mutually reinforcing fashion, and we are excited about the possibilities of the consortium of community colleges led by County College of Morris in partnership with the leading manufacturing firms convened by the German American Chamber of Commerce.”

The German American Chamber of Commerce is a central partner in the CCM grant and will bring extensive experience and expertise with the German model of apprenticeship training to the consortium’s efforts.

Last year, Iacono, along with 11 other education and workforce officials from across the country, toured Germany to examine its apprenticeship programs. Funded by the Transatlantic Outreach Program, the tour focused on how the United States might make use of the German model to expand experiential leaning opportunities for students with the support of industry.

The CCM consortium includes Bergen Community College, Camden County College, Hudson County College, Mercer County Community College, Middlesex County College, Raritan Valley Community College and Rowan College at Gloucester. Together, they will work with national industry partners including Arconic, Glenbrook Technologies, Norwalt Design, Rosenberger, Siemens, UPS and other leading firms in New Jersey.

Enrollment for the apprenticeship program will target both traditional and underrepresented populations, including the unemployed, veterans, transitioning military, women and people of color. At least 1,600 individuals are to be trained through the program.

The USDOL grant is perfectly timed with CCM’s construction of a 31,500-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center slated to open in 2020 to meet the needs of those key industries.

Additionally, CCM will be receiving approximately $500,000 as a consortium partner in the same USDOL grant program to develop apprenticeship programs in health care. That project is being led by Bergen Community College.

“Not only are these grants an historic occasion for CCM but also for New Jersey and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, which also is partnering in the apprenticeship programs,” said Iacono.