The Lakewood Vaad on Friday reiterated its strong opposition to the Lakewood Public School Administration’s decision to drastically cut teachers in the public schools. The Vaad issued this statement in response to the looming termination notices, called RICE Notices, sent this week to over 140 public school employees by the Public School Administration.
“Lakewood’s public schools are blessed with the most dedicated and professional teachers and staff. They do a fabulous job educating and nurturing Lakewood’s public school kids, empowering them to become successful, independent adults. Year after year these teachers and staff are improving the quality of the schools, setting bright futures for the kids in the district, many of whom are disadvantaged.
It is a tragic day in our town when so many of these public servants are notified that they will be the victims of policy shortcomings in Trenton. It is a sad day when these educators are placed at risk of losing their jobs, while the students need them more than ever. As has been shared by us repeatedly with State and County Officials, and has been clearly acknowledged by the officials to us countless times, the State’s school funding formula is broken and it robs Lakewood’s kids of funds that they deserve and to which they are legally and morally entitled to.
We offer unequivocal support to the employees who now have their jobs, their mission and their own families in peril. We urge the State Monitors, who have only the interests of the kids at heart, and in whom the decision making power for the District rests, to avoid any budget-driven layoffs. Instead, we call on the Monitors to publicly join the children’s plight and to take the lead in fixing the broken funding formula. We know the Monitors serve with only one intent –to help kids, we need their support more than ever, along with that of Trenton.
Help us help these kids, sign the petition that says that you too care.” (SIGN PETITION HERE)
This is the craziest situation. The State Monitor was sent here years ago and other state staff were also taken on at our district’s expense to help ‘solve Lakewood’s fiscal problems’. Now it comes out that after this, we don’t have a fiscal problem. We are bound to a system where our revenue can not meet the expenses we are obliged to pay under law.
They used to blame it on courtesy busing. Now we see that’s not the problem. They blamed it on waste due to lack of oversight and yet, the State Monitor has been in charge of the decisions for all this time with no offering of a solution.
Bottom line- There is no way Lakewood can continue to sustain itself unless some massive changes come underway.
I hope and pray that our Askanim will rightfully assess this situation this time and not cave in by placing the burden on local tax payers again this time around.
Can someone explain what the funding formula is and what’s unfair about it.
Hey ‘Dr Know it All’ The courtesy busing still comes out of the school budget, it is just not administered by the school board. The State Monitor and staff are paid for out of the school budget. so no cost savings there.
I was saying that the state monitor was supposed to come in and ‘straighten out’ Lakewood’s fiscal problems. And yes that is clear that we pay for his (and others’) salaries. – The problem is the guy has been here for what (?) five years? and we are in worse shape not better.
My point is that Lakewood is NOT doing anything wrong (or more wrong than other districts at least). The monitor himself agreed (and this is documented) that Lakewood does not have a “spending” problem. We have a “revenue problem”. That problem is because the formula shortchanges us.
The funding formula is- The district gets money for each PUBLIC school student. In Lakewood there are 6,000 public school students and 30,000 private school students. So all services for 36,000 students are paid for with the funds for 6,000.