New Jersey Department of Education

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School Finance

About School Finance/Contact Us

Division of Finance under Deputy Assistant Commissioner

This branch of the Division of Finance includes the Office of Fiscal Policy and Planning, the Office of School Finance, and the Office of State Monitors. These offices are responsible for developing and maintaining databases for state aid reporting and conducting state aid calculations and payments. They develop fiscal policy for school districts, charter schools, and APSSDs, and provide guidance on a range of fiscal issues, including state and federal reporting, budgeting, accounting, and the provision of student transportation services to ensure compliance with applicable law and regulations.

phone: (609) 376-3941

Fiscal Policy and Planning

Fiscal Policy and Planning (FP&P) is responsible for the development, communication, and maintenance of all aspects of finance-related policy for New Jersey's public school districts. FP&P performs legislative analysis and planning, including recommendations for modifications to current administrative code. The unit is also primarily responsible for the development and administration of the annual school district budget process, including defeated budget procedures, and the school election/budget calendar; the development and administration of the annual School District and Charter School Audit Program and State Aid Compliance Supplement which provides the policies, standards and guidelines for the performance of the independent audit of school district and charter school financial statements, and the related "AUDSUM" collection of fiscal data used for data analysis and reporting to internal and external users; and the development and administration of the school register data collection for average daily enrollment and attendance. Related duties include the calculation and release of public school district regular and special education tuition rates; maintenance of the indirect cost agreement between the NJDOE and USDE which provides the methodology for the determination of annual LEA indirect cost rates; and the administration of Public School Contracts Law under the guidance of the Department of Community Affairs. The unit administers state aid systems for special public school populations at Approved Private Schools for Students with Disabilities (APSSDs) and is responsible for all APSSD fiscal reports such as APSSD Appendix S fiscal data, tentative and certified APSSD tuition rates, and maximum allowable salaries. The unit provides all regulatory and compliance oversight of APSSDs.

Director: Scott Henry

Office of School Finance

The Office of School Finance is responsible for development and maintenance of the following: the collection of data and calculations for the school funding formula; the state aid payment system for schools in accordance with applicable statutes; federal reporting of fiscal data and school district boundaries, and the development and maintenance of procedures for safe and efficient student transportation services. The director of the office oversees the activities of the following three units: State Aid Entitlements and Payments; State Aid Research and Data Analysis; and Student Transportation Services.

Director: Allen T. Dupree
Main Phone: (609) 376-3941

General State Aid Inquiries: staid@doe.nj.gov

State Aid Entitlements and Payments

The State Aid Entitlements and Payments unit administers state aid payment and data collection systems for school districts in accordance with applicable statutes. Data collections include Application for State Aid (ASSA), State Facilities Education Act (SFEA), Extraordinary Aid (EXAID), Debt Service (DSDC), and all other statutory state funded aid programs such as Social Security Contributions (FICA) and Homeless tuition reimbursement State Responsible Homeless Tuition). The unit oversees regulations and procedures for all student transportation services (TRANS), and administers the district report of transported students (DRTRS) data used to calculate transportation state aid and to calculate district transportation efficiency ratings, as well as for conducting studies to identify operational trends and efficiencies. The unit administers state aid systems for special public school populations at charter schools, renaissance schools, and choice districts - including the enrollment data collections through the Charter School Enrollment System (CHE), and Supplemental Choice Enrollment System. It disburses state aid payments to districts, calculates tuition deductions from CSSDs (CSSD), Day Training, Katzenbach, and Commission for the blind and handles any other withholdingsIt also administers systems for Nonpublic School Aid including Chapter 192/193 enrollment (CH192-193), Nonpublic School Project Completion Report (NPCR), Chapter 192/193 Additional Funding requests (ADDL), calculates Non-public Nursing, Textbook, Technology, and Chapter 192/193 entitlements and disburses all Nonpublic School Aid payments. The unit assists in identifying the responsible district of residence when necessary.

Supervisor: Frank Lavdas
Main Phone: (609) 376-3941

State Aid Research and Data Analysis

This unit conducts school aid research and prepares reports required by the school funding law (SFRA), in addition to performing state aid simulations and forecasts relative to future school finance trends and proposed legislation. The unit prepares school finance statistics for dissemination in publications such as the Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending, and provides data for federal reports such as the National Public School Education Financial Survey (NPEFS), the Census Bureau Finance Survey (F33), the School District Boundary Review Program (SDRP), and Maintenance of Effort and Local Contribution Rates for NJ school districts.

Supervisor: Susan Ecks
Main Phone: (609) 376-3941

Student Transportation Services

This unit provides guidance to school districts and contractors responsible for providing transportation services to the state’s public and nonpublic student populations, including the development of contracts and forms published on our website. The unit collaborates with Field Services, County Offices, the NJDOE Criminal History unit, and the NJ Motor Vehicles Commission to ensure the safe transportation of students.

Pupil Transportation: (609) 376-9064
Fax: (609) 292-6794
Email: student.trans@doe.nj.gov