This bill authorizes school districts in New Jersey to establish a charter school payment reserve account to manage payments to charter schools. Under current law, school districts must make payments to charter schools based on projected enrollment figures provided by the Department of Education, which are later adjusted according to actual enrollment as of October 15. If a district budgets an amount for charter school payments that is less than the projected payment, this bill allows the district to utilize funds from the newly created reserve account to cover any shortfall when the actual payments exceed the budgeted amount.

Additionally, the bill stipulates that interest earned on the charter school payment reserve account can be transferred to the district's general fund, similar to existing provisions for other reserve accounts. This flexibility aims to provide school districts with better financial management tools to address the variability in charter school payments, ensuring that they can meet their obligations without financial strain. The bill is set to take effect immediately upon passage.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 18A:7F-41