School Mental Health – Civic Parent

Jersey City Public Schools: Visualization for Federal Covid-19 Aid

March 1, 2022March 2, 2022Brigid D'Souza

The Jersey City Public Schools have received over $160 million in federal COVID-19 aid since 2020 and I was curious how the funds have been used, the status of what remains, and what insights we can glean from this public data particularly as we approach the annual budget process. I have published a few...

Midway through Jersey City’s “S2” state aid cuts: assessing the fiscal landscape.

February 11, 2022March 13, 2022Brigid D'Souza

It has been nearly four years since NJ passed the “S2” law, leading to state aid cuts to Jersey City. In this post I want to assess the fiscal landscape of the public schools using nine years of user friendly budget data, with particular focus on: where the district is with state aid reductions...

Accountability Check: a look back at mental health services included in the FY2021-22 Jersey City Public Schools Budget

January 24, 2022March 15, 2022Brigid D'Souza

Jersey City's FY2021-22 public schools budget included concrete, promised investments in mental health services for our city's students. In this post I want to reopen the budget document that was approved last May and revisit some of that promised investment. A budget can inform future investment but it can, and should, also be used...