Senate Panel Lends Support to Innovation Fund for NJ Schools

A proposal to revive the Christie administration’s plans for a state “Innovation Fund” for schools won a boost from a Senate committee yesterday, but not without questions about whether it was the best way to spend the money -- a relatively small sum.

The Senate Education Committee was back to business yesterday with a half-dozen bills on its agenda, including the proposal for a $5 million Innovation Fund to provide grants for certain experimental programs in schools.

Sponsored by state Sen. Teresa Ruiz (D-Essex), the committee’s chairman, the bill is similar to a program that was proposed by Gov. Chris Christie in his state budget last spring but eventually removed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Ruiz said she saw the new program as an opportunity to help launch programs including extended class schedules, technology innovations, and other improvements that otherwise would not see funding.

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