The Lakewood School District has been closed due to budgeting. While most schools have let out for summer break the Township provides year round services for students with special needs.
According to Jersey Shore Online:
LAKEWOOD – A funding hole stopped Lakewood schools from operating on July 1, and officials hope they will open the next day.
While most students are done for the year, it affects some special education students who require year-round educational programs. Parents of these students were asked to make other plans for them.
“We apologize for what Trenton has done,” school attorney Michael Inzelbuch said to parents during an early morning Board of Education meeting.
There is a hole of $30,050,890 in the budget. By law, Inzelbuch explained, the budget can’t be passed without allotting where all the money is coming from.
Additionally, there is about $5 million owed from previous loans. The State Department of Education has assured that the loans would be deferred by the Treasury Department but they have not received that in writing, he said.
One controversial part of the school district is the funding for transportation. By law, the public school has to fund transportation for non-public education.
There had been a Lakewood School District Transportation Authority to oversee busing, however that had expired on June 30, officials said. The Board of Education passed a resolution in support of continuing it for another year.
The board also passed a resolution supporting a bill crafted by Sen. Robert Singer that would create a regional consortium, so that all schools in the county would be covered, and that this would be paid for by the state.
Another resolution was passed that the township, through land use boards’ approval of development, has created the problem and should be responsible for it.
“It’s a great gig: It’s approved, and then we bus everyone,” Inzelbuch said.
The town’s land use boards are one of many things that the district is not responsible for, he said, but are still impacted by.
The district is also trying to get more information on a bill from the School For Children With Hidden Intelligence, a special education school in Lakewood that billed them more than $2 million for last year. SCHI’s founder had been indicted for stealing money from the school by laundering it through a fundraising organization.
Lakewood’s state monitor, David Shafter, said he wanted a detailed bill of every student and every day the child was enrolled. They also want more information about a summer camp that SCHI runs.
“We do not audit state approved private schools for the disabled. We wish we did,” Inzelbuch said. “We do not set their tuition rates. We wish we did.”
School officials said during the meeting that they hoped the issue could be worked out in Trenton, and that the funding would be made available so that schools can open on July 2. Gov. Phil Murphy just yesterday signed the state budget, narrowly avoiding a state shutdown.
Does that include the “other” schools Lakewood funding supports?
Denise Langone Howell Pettersen. Sure doesn’t
Maybe if everyone paid taxes like the rest of the residents, these resources would be available. But, for some reason, our dollars are funding them??Such a blatant crime.
If people paid taxes there wouldn’t be such a huge hole
Nicole Whitney ummm
Ooooh too bad
What schools… Like lakewood public highschool or private “privileged” schools
Because if its just the “non-public” schools i dont give a shit. ??
Sucks when u let more than half your residents get away with not paying taxes huh? This will be happening to all surrounding towns in due time as well
Liz Palermo
Jen Marie
Carmen Dalton yup. That’s what happens when most of the residents don’t pay taxes. $30 million ???.
I wonder if Ocean County can file for an exemption to the private school bussing requirements from the state?
The DEA is constantly updating the list of illegal substances, as they become a threat to our health. The same thing should be allowed when people find loop-holes and abusive them to the point where entire school districts have to close down.
Jesuses Poeple My Ass They r Takeing R Towns N Makeing Them Dump Sites N Dont Respected R Laws N They Sure Cant Drive
Maybe they should stop paying the school board lawyer all that money too.
Special needs my ass….they all have special needs according to them!!! They can go feck right the feck off
Patrick Brennan the Hasidic don’t go to township schools .. the actual residents of Lakewood that are of normal people go to Lakewood schools .. the actual kids with special needs such as Down’s syndrome and shit just had their day program shut ..
I hear the kids at that school right now..in the industrial park
Dani Cus
Johnny Bryant
Public schools only, of course
Since this is a mandate in NJ to bus which is especially unique to Lakewood due to the extreme amount of private school students, I would be interested in knowing how many of these students are bussed although they live within 2 miles of the school. The district is not responsible to bus elementary students within 2 miles of the school and high school within 2.5 miles. That then just becomes courtesy bussing.
Sheryl Drumm the other issue is that the private schools attend year round and through regular public school holiday breaks. The number of days they require busing far exceeds the public school norm.
Allie Zden I remember a few years back the district was going to drop all Private school courtesy bussing and there was an uproar amongst the Jewish community. The courtesy bussing continued as far as I knew, so at $1000 a student to bus students that don’t qualify sure will rack up a bill.
55% of the Orthodox are special needs? Aren’t they special!!!
What a shame..maybe instead of funding the Jews for their bullshit “schools” take care of the kids who need and deserve it
Megan Armstrong I agree. They should need to find their own transportation
Ali Palmisano it’s ridiculous they are moving into our towns and taking from our kids..
Megan Armstrong agreed and we can’t even afford to fund preschool for all our kids. Our classes are already large. It’s not fair to them or to the neighboring districts this will effect as well
Ali Palmisano yup! Toms River lost a bunch of funding and has to pay to bus them to Lakewood..utterly amazing
What a disgrace. I want to know when someone is going to speak up on behalf of the public school kids. Right? Crickets…????
So is it the plan to shut all schools this year because no money… then give them the money next year, after they bought all the empty schools.
Open borders tax free come on in
Sorry to say it’s about time. The private schools need to kick in and help the community they live in.
Start paying taxes like everyone esle
LAKEWOOD and Corruption!! Go hand in hand.
Because no one pays taxes!
Gee, all those homes and businesses aren’t generating enough tax revenue to support their schools? Oh wait… That’s right….
Pay your share of taxes
This school township is so stupid.
Just last week they had an ad up saying they were hiring teachers then a week later they are laying off staff and news like this.
Fire the damn administration already and start fresh and hire people with half a brain.
This isnt the first time they have done this.
This district is run by a bunch of morons.
My thought; To be eligible for school busing, they need to actually educate students not indoctrinate them into a religion where the only job they are qualified for is as a rabbi. That’s the males.
“We apologize for what Trenton has done”.
Is this guy for real…like really?? I know he is the slime at the bottom of the pond but the delusional thoughts with this remark sums it all up. I wonder if he blames someone else when he tells his child(ren) they aren’t getting what HE promised. What a huge Joke!!!!
NO ONE GETS A HAND OUT ANYMORE AND ITS ABOUT TIME
Rob King oh yea fuck the kids with special needs.?
But they can still buy an emotional support donkey
Fucking pathetic
How about sell Peanut the Pony to fix it
If they all paid taxes, they would have a school system. Sad that they will have to go to other towns. And where does the money come from for that . Maybe everyone should move out and leave the town them. This is so wrong, and you will never get the money for the school system as long as they run that town.
It is only under the premise that secular studies are being taught at private schools that they are eligible for busing. If private schools are only providing religious education, then the spending of public funds for them is unconstitutional.
t pay taxes and the men don’t work. They are scamming everyone, religious education is being taught and we re paying for it.
Wait what the fuck happens to the 13 million they took from tr. school district ha
Is it the public schools or private schools being shut down? If it’s public schools what school will all these kids be allowed to go to? I thought going out of your district was a no no and fines given
Christine Shecton regional schools, most likely central regional which is already over crowded and under funded. Lakewood has been bailed out time and time again but they spend the money where they want which is their private schools then ask for more hand outs. Horrible!
Where did the grant money from the state go?!
This town blows
Ocean County Government sucks…They let these people in Lakewood do anything they want..all they do is play the religious card..
Tell them to get the money back that they stole from the taxpayers that they haven’t paid back yet. That’s in the millions right there. Tell them to start paying their property taxes instead of telling the town their house is a church and than they wouldn’t be in this situation.
Also stop paying the board of educations lawyer almost a million dollars a year. That’s all the money they you just recouped right there.
Diane Murphy board of education lAwyer got them another 36 million so he is obviously doing something right…. wortg every penny I’m sure
Maybe they should start digging in their OWN pockets…
It’s sad that Democrats care more about their pockets than The children of this State. Oh what am I saying, they’re for killing babies, why would they care about kids trying to go to school.
Robert Lee fetuses aren’t babies, Idiot. You’re a one trick pony.
Laura Beeden shut your mouth baby killer
Lol friggin con artists
Why would they use this picture when it is the public school children loosing their funding
Everybody is a student and everything is a Temple, thus they pay no taxes. They dug the hole, and now let them figure out how to get out of it…..all by themselves.
They did it to themselves……period…..the end.
Cindy Chapman Nacca