| Assemblymen Alex Sauickie and Robert Clifton are aiming to prevent well-funded school districts from wasting taxpayer dollars on private parties and extravagant trips. The Republican lawmakers introduced a bill appointing fiscal monitors to oversee spending at nearly 30 school districts.
The proposal comes after Newark Public Schools came under fire for spending more than $1 million in travel and entertainment for the administration and school board last year. After an investigation by the Department of Education revealed a “staff fun day” in June was of no educational value, the district was ordered to reimburse the state for the costs of the party that were paid for with state aid.
“This frivolous $1 million spend alone could have restored all of the after school busing lost in ALL school districts in Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, and Burlington Counties,” Sauickie (R-Ocean) wrote to the state’s Department of Education Acting Commissioner Kevin Dehmer in December.
Under the bill (A5179), schools that receive 70% or more of their funding from state aid would be appointed a state monitor to oversee business operations and personnel matters.
According to the 2024 version of the Taxpayers’ Guide to Education Spending, 29 school districts would qualify for a state-appointed monitor. The list includes Newark, as well as Salem City School District, which reportedly paid $115,650 in college expenses for eight graduates – one of several financial indiscretions discovered by the state auditor.
“All public schools should demonstrate they are responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars and that the money is supporting a quality education. Unfortunately, some of the schools receiving the most aid are spending like they have money to burn and their students are failing,” Clifton (R-Monmouth) said.
In the spring of 2024, only a quarter of Newark’s 4th graders and 38% of 8th graders met the English and reading standards on the statewide assessment. Fewer than 20% of students in 4th grade and only 13.8% of students in 8th grade were proficient in math. In Salem, fewer than 10% of the 8th grade students were proficient in reading and only 1.4% of them were proficient in math. Fourth graders didn’t perform much better with approximately 13 of the 74 students meeting the standards in both subjects.
Sauickie and Clifton represent 16 school districts. Five were either cut or held flat and overall funding is down almost $1.2 million compared to last school year. The biggest loss was Jackson Township’s $4.5 million cut, but Sauickie was able to secure another $2.5 million to save courtesy busing.
“It is outrageous that the Jackson School District, which can’t even meet the state’s own definition of adequacy spending, has to pay for a state monitor, but other schools flush with taxpayer cash are free to spend with little or no oversight,” Sauickie added. “While Jackson cuts programs, closes a school and fires staff, Newark and Salem spend carelessly.”
The schools slated for fiscal monitors under the bill are located throughout New Jersey in 16 of the 21 counties.
“When state taxpayers outside of Newark fund $1.25 billion of the school district’s $1.5 billion budget, there needs to be a certain level of accountability,” Sauickie and Clifton said. “It makes sense to put a monitor in school districts where the risk of taxpayer waste is much higher.” |
