For the first time since 2012, the Lakewood School District has achieved passing scores on all five areas of the QSAC – New Jersey’s quality assessment of all school districts in the state.
In October 2019, the Lakewood School District filed in court at the Office of Administrative Law contesting the score given to the District by the State, specifically in the area of Fiscal Management. When the lawsuit was filed the District’s score for Fiscal Management was 56%, which would indicate that the school district was failing in that regard.
After intense litigation, the New Jersey Department of Education yesterday agreed to revise the score upwards to 88% for Fiscal Management, a 22-point increase. The change is a significant victory for the Lakewood School District and its stakeholders, including its leadership, teachers, students, and Lakewood’s taxpayers.
The Lakewood School District was represented in court by Board Attorney Michael Inzelbuch, and the state was represented by Deputy Attorney General Sidney Finkelstein.
The Districts’ new scores on the QSAC Assessment are 80% for Instruction & Management, 100% for Fiscal Management, 100% for Governance, 91% for Operations, and 96% for Personnel. These scores qualify Lakewood to be deemed a “High Performing” school district.
QSAC Settlement December 16 2020