| | | | |  | | By Jonathan Custodio | The number of New Jersey preschool students took a big drop last year, lining up with national trends spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a new report from National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, preschool enrollment decreased by more than 8,500 while state spending on pre-K continued to rise, reports POLITICO's Carly Sitrin. During the 2020-2021 academic year, researchers found that the state's preschool programs enrolled 46,895 children, down from 55,413 in the 2019-2020 academic year. When adjusted for inflation, state spending increased by 10 percent to $874.3 million since last year, which put state spending per child at $18,643. That number was up 4 percent from the prior school year. The pandemic forced school closures and educators had to pivot to hybrid models. Twenty-six states reported dips in spending on preschool programs. The report also noted that New Jersey was one of nine states to augment spending by more than $10 million while others left state funding untouched or instituted more moderate increases. Gov. Phil Murphy has coughed up the coins for preschools, revving up annual spending as he aims to establish universal pre-K in the coming years. However, the state's high level of spending notwithstanding, researchers found that New Jersey ranked 20th in the nation for access to pre-K for 4-year-olds and fifth for access for 3-year-olds. HAPPY TUESDAY AFTERNOON — Hi there, I'm Jonathan Custodio, your Playbook PM author. You can send eastern goldfinch photos to jcustodio@politico.com. We're here with the latest from Trenton and elsewhere as New Jersey moves ahead in the budget process and the Legislature conducts hearings on the governor's spending plan. |  | WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY | |
HEALTH COMMISSIONER PRESSED ON COVID-19 RESPONSE — Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli heard a few tough questions during an Assembly Budget Committee hearing on Monday as lawmakers criticized the state's pandemic response and the high Covid-19 death toll, reports New Jersey Monitor's Sophie Nieto-Muñoz. Though she was there to discuss expanded maternal care, increased aid for social programs, and broader access to health insurance, Persichilli spent most of the two-hour hearing fielding questions on the department's pandemic response and its oversight of long-term care centers.
Assemblymembers Hal Wirths (R-Sussex) and Nancy Muñoz (R-Union) cited the effects of lockdowns — the latter asked the commissioner on lessons learned — while Assemblymember Benjie Wimberly (D-Passaic) asked about outreach to Black and Latino residents who haven't been vaccinated. Persichilli noted that officials were unaware the virus was airborne during the first Covid-19 wave and limited testing was available. She also said working with local health departments and faith-based organizations helps reach Black and Latino communities, and is requesting $500,000 in the next budget for an infection control prevention team designated for long-term care centers. COVID NUMBERS — New Jersey reported 1,741 Covid-19 cases and 15 deaths from the virus on Tuesday. The state's seven-day average for confirmed positive tests was up 11 percent from a week ago and 128 percent from a month ago, and health officials are considering an experimental drug called sabizabulin that could reduce deaths among patients hospitalized with Covid-19. | | ON THE BEATS | |
IRELAND TRIP — First Lady Tammy Murphy and Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan visited the Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research, known as "INFANT." There they signed a memorandum of understanding between the NJEDA and INFANT, which, according to the governor's office, "establishes collaboration through sharing of research findings, clinical work, and best practices that will support the mission of both parties to be at the forefront of groundbreaking research and accelerate efforts to advance health outcomes of mothers and infants." Maternal and infant health has been a top priority for the first lady. — Katherine Landergan
ENERGY— While on his trip to Ireland, the governor continued to find parallels between the Emerald Isle and his state, including hopes to harness winds blowing across the Atlantic Ocean. Murphy joined Kieran White, an executive at offshore wind developer Ørsted, for a panel discussion at University College Cork to talk about wind energy. Murphy's administration is planning to approve 7.5 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2025 and is already halfway to that goal thanks to two wind farms Ørsted is planning to build off the Jersey coast. "We are taking on these efforts not just because we know it's the right thing for our planet's long-term sustainability, but it's also the smart thing to do for New Jersey's long-term economic viability," Murphy said. In Ireland, the potential for wind energy is vast in the Celtic Sea , an area of the Atlantic Ocean off the island's southern coast. The Cork Chamber recently said the region should have at least 5 gigawatts of wind energy being produced there by 2030 and the area has the potential for 50 gigawatts total — which would be more wind energy than all of France expects to produce by 2050. A gigawatt is enough power for about 750,000 homes. "The Irish Government has set a target for 80 percent of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2030," White said. "For these targets to be met, we need significant investment in new infrastructure, more dedicated resources and targeted reforms to our planning and regulatory frameworks in order to accelerate the delivery of renewable energy projects." It's a wind week for Murphy. On Thursday, the governor is scheduled to speak to a major wind industry conference back home in Atlantic City. — Ry Rivard CANNABIS — A coalition of South Jersey Democratic lawmakers is seeking "clarification" from Acting Attorney General Matt Platkin on his recent memo saying that off-duty cops may use cannabis. In a letter to Platkin, the South Jersey Democrats questioned why Platkin issued the memo and wanted to clarify the "legal basis for this decision because it seems to contradict federal law and regulations." Cannabis remains illegal on the federal level as a schedule 1 drug, and lawmakers referred to federal regulations that forbid firearm users from using cannabis, medical or otherwise. "Considering that one of the essential job functions of a police officer is to lawfully possess and use a firearm and ammunition, and federal law prohibits a person from using marijuana (legal or otherwise) and possessing a firearm, then police officers in New Jersey should not be permitted to consume legal cannabis products whether they are on- or off-duty," the lawmakers wrote in a letter. — Daniel Han
| | Around New Jersey | |
"N.J.'s largest school district may be about to end mask mandate," by NJ Advance Media's Rob Jennings: "New Jersey's largest school district will decide by week's end whether to continue require mask-wearing in buildings to combat the spread of COVID-19. Newark is among the few districts in which masks remain mandatory, seven weeks after the statewide mask mandate ended March 7. A spokesperson for the Newark district, Nancy Deering, told NJ Advance Media on Monday that a decision will be made by the end of this week."
"Antisemitic incidents reach 'disturbing' record in New Jersey, ADL says," by The Record's Deena Yellin: "Reports of antisemitic incidents in New Jersey climbed to a record last year, returning to pre-pandemic levels and seemingly boosted by heightened Middle East tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. There were 370 such incidents in the state last year, a 25% increase over 2020 and part of a nationwide trend of rising harassment and violence against Jews, according to a report Tuesday from the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights organization. The ADL documented the highest number of incidents in areas with among the highest Jewish populations in the region: Bergen County recorded 70 and Ocean County 44. In a particularly notorious attack in Teaneck, a man smashed the windows of a doctor's office with a hammer and demanded of patients in the waiting room, 'Are you Jewish?'" "NJ getting $641M to fight the opioid epidemic. Why fentanyl is making it harder than ever," by The Record's Dustin Racioppi: "While the Murphy administration plots exactly how to spend $641 million from drug companies for their roles in the opioid epidemic, New Jersey faces a deadlier and more pervasive threat from fentanyl than it ever did from painkillers and heroin, according to advocates, experts and law enforcement. The synthetic opioid is now found in virtually every drug on the street and was the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in 2018 and 2019 in New Jersey, according to the latest data from the state medical examiner. It is cheap, magnitudes more potent than heroin and reshaping notions of how to cut down abuse and death rates that have skyrocketed in the past decade." | | Odds and ends | |
— A police chief in Mercer County has been charged with DWI after an accident in which he allegedly left the scene.
— As New Jersey's single-use bag ban nears, small businesses will be stuck with the leftovers. — High inflation is creating challenges for the state's food banks. — Hudson County Community College will name an atrium after Rep. Albio Sires, who is retiring this year. — A volunteer fire station in Camden County has stopped responding to emergency calls because there aren't enough volunteers.
| | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | California Playbook PM | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | New York Playbook PM View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
Comments
Post a Comment