Bill > S4275

Introduced Session

This bill would change the management of the New Jersey School of Conservation (NJSOC), located in Stokes State Forest, Sussex County, from Montclair State University to the Friends of the New Jersey School of Conservation, a nonprofit organization. The bill would also direct the Friends of the New Jersey School of Conservation to submit financial figures and a request for State funding to the Department of Education (DOE) no later than January 15 of each year. The bill would also direct the DOE to include an appropriate amount to maintain the operations of the NJSOC in the school aid portion of its annual budget request. Finally, the bill would repeal the sections of law that require the Board of Trustees of Montclair State University to request and expend funding for the NJSOC. Originally established in 1949, the NJSOC is the oldest and the largest university-based environmental education facility in the nation, and some of its buildings were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It has served as a school for environmental field studies for K-12 students, college students, graduate students, and teachers. In 1981, Governor Brendan Byrne enacted a law that permanently designated the NJSOC as a school for environmental field study under the direction of the Board of Trustees of Montclair State University. However, in May 2020, Montclair State announced that it was no longer financially viable for the university to administer the school due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it would transfer all control of the grounds back to the DEP.

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Bob Smith (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee (on 12/13/2021)