Says Murphy Should Hold Off On More School Spending

(Parsippany, NJ) Following published reports that two new jersey school districts are being investigated for financial irregular ties. Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce is again calling for a statewide audit of education spending before Gov. Phil Murphy commits to adding more than $300 million in new school spending to the FY 2019 budget
“Throwing more money at school districts in a state that already spends more on education than 47 other states is irresponsible,” says DeCroce (Morris, Essex Passaic). For some reason Gov. Murphy doesn’t want to recognize that fact.”

“We owe to the taxpayers to determine if the huge amount of money taxpayers are already spending on education is going where it should go and is used to benefit students, ” added the assemblywoman.

According to recent reports on NJ.Com, school districts in Belleville and Roselle are under investigation by state authorities for financial irregularities.

NJ.com reported that a 2014 audit of the Belleville district showed serious and repeated flaws in its finances including leasing unneeded property for $200,000, purchasing 2,000 flash drives it did not need for $20,000 and selling one of its buildings to the town for $1.

The Roselle school district’s business practices are under investigation by the state Department of Education’s office of Fiscal Accountability, according to a NJ.com report.

“Of the more than 600 school districts in the state I’m sure these are not the only two districts that may be spending taxpayer money unwisely or illegally,” said DeCroce.

“Before throwing hundreds of millions of additional taxpayer dollars at school districts, I think it’s prudent for the legislature and the state DOE to find out where the money is going and how much can be saved by eliminating waste and fraud,” added DeCroce, who has been recommending an in-depth audit of education spending since March.

“The governor prides himself on being a businessman; well then he should recognize that we need to start running New Jersey more like a business — and that means forcing each and every department and branch of government to be financially accountable to the taxpayers – including the school districts,” said DeCroce, a business owner.

ADJUSTING SCHOOL AID

DeCroce added that state education formulas need to be adjusted to provide more help for middle class suburban district that are being crushed under the weight of education spending.

“I’m confident we can eliminate many millions of dollars in waste and fraud from the $26 billion a year that taxpayers spend on schools in year. Those savings can be the source of property tax relief for many middle class homeowners,” added DeCroce.

The assemblywoman noted the following state education spending facts

• More than $13 billion (40 percent) of the current state budget is directed to school funding.
• Approximately $13 billion more is poured into the public school system from local property taxes.
• The average per pupil cost in New Jersey is $18,235 (2015 figures) which means New Jersey has the fourth highest state school spending total in the nation.
• The national per pupil spending average is $11,392.*

DeCroce first called for an education audit in late March but has not received a response from the governor’s office.