By Isaac Shadpour

OUTRAGE: HALF A BILLION FOR 700 NEWARK STUDENTS AS LAKEWOOD AND TOMS RIVER DROWN IN DEBT

For many families in Ocean County, the numbers are almost impossible to comprehend. While districts like Lakewood and Toms River struggle under crushing debt, repeated tax hikes, staff cuts, and fears of state intervention, taxpayers across New Jersey are now watching Newark move for­ward with a staggering $500 million school lease for fewer than 700 students.

Residents in communities already stretched to the limit are asking the same question: How can the state keep pouring billions into Newark while suburban districts are left fighting to survive?

That frustration was laid out bluntly by Toms River Board of Education President Ashley Lamb during an interview discussing the grow­ing controversy surrounding Newark public schools and the broader failures of New Jersey’s school funding formula.

Lamb said the state’s education system has become one of the biggest reasons families can no longer afford to stay in New Jersey. According to her, school taxes are driving up property tax bills across the state while many districts are be­ing forced to do more with less every year.

She pointed specifically to Ocean County, where districts have faced severe financial strain. Jackson has had to sell school buildings, while Toms River has repeatedly faced major tax hikes and budget pressure from the state.

Meanwhile, Lamb contrasted those strug­gles with Newark’s rapidly growing education budget, which is projected to climb to roughly $1.67 billion. She noted that Newark operates more than 60 school buildings for approximately 44,000 students, while Toms River, the largest suburban district in New Jersey, serves around 15,000 students with just 18 schools.

What especially angered Lamb was that more than 80 percent of Newark’s school fund­ing comes from taxpayers who do not even live in Newark. That means tax dollars paid by res­idents in communities like Lakewood are being funneled into the Newark School District, while Lakewood itself receives a comparative pittance in state aid despite facing enormous finan­cial challenges.

“You have people paying taxes into the State of New Jersey, and the state is single-handedly responsible for shutting down their community and neighborhood schools and then funneling their money into big city schools like Newark,” Lamb told The Voice.

“You have people paying taxes into the state, and the state is single-handedly responsible for shutting down their community and neighborhood schools”

The controversy intensified after Newark ap­proved a 30-year lease agreement worth about $1.4 million per month for a new elementary school serv­ing fewer than 700 students. Critics have questioned both the price tag and allegations of political connec­tions tied to the deal.

Lamb argued that the numbers simply do not make sense. “I don’t think it takes a forensic accoun­tant to know that something fishy is definitely going on,” she said.

The proposed lease agreement must now be re­viewed by the New Jersey Department of Education, which will ultimately determine whether the contro­versial deal moves forward. Lamb argued that if the enormous amount of money tied to a single school for fewer than 700 students would be applied to strug­gling school districts throughout Ocean County, it could pull many, or even all, of them out of the deep financial holes they are currently in.

Lamb also criticized what she described as waste­ful spending within Newark public schools over the years, referencing reports of expensive staff events and administrative travel, all while other districts are struggling to keep programs alive.

Back in Ocean County, Lamb said local boards are often blamed for tax increases even when the state effectively forces them. She explained that Toms River recently approved a tax increase large­ly because officials feared the state would otherwise install a monitor who might raise taxes anyway and potentially force the sale of school buildings.

For districts like Lakewood and Toms River, the upsetting question is whether our communities can continue functioning while billions of statewide tax dollars flow elsewhere. Lamb said the solution be­gins with one thing: fixing the state funding formula.

“Someone has to come in and look at this and go, wow, this is really not working,” she concluded.