In the wake of the Toms River Public School District announcing it will file for bankruptcy, State Senator Robert Singer (R-Lakewood) released a statement defending the district’s actions and urging community support.
“The Toms River School District has done everything in its power to manage an incredibly difficult situation,” said Senator Singer. “This bankruptcy filing is not a failure of leadership, it’s a desperate appeal for common sense. Moments like this are when we must come together as a community to support our students and teachers.”
The school board announced the planned Chapter 9 filing this week, after rejecting a warning from the state Department of Education that the district must approve a 2025-26 budget or cease all operations.
Toms River Regional has lost a total of $175 million in state aid in recent years due to New Jersey’s revised school funding formula. According to the board, the state told them they must raise property taxes by an additional 13% – on top of the recent 9% hike.
Toms River Regional is one of the largest school districts in the state, serving about 14,500 students across 18 schools.
Chapter 9 bankruptcy protections allow school districts, as well as municipalities, protection from their creditors and a financial and legal path to renegotiate debt.
The whole system is broken , it is obvious that what has been in place for years as far as the public schools in NJ no longer works in today’s world . There are far to many redundant boards ,every township ,perhaps a new approach to a county wide system would be far more efficient ,the old saying when you keep doing things the same way and expecting different results is the definition of insanity !