TOMS RIVER, NJ — As the Toms River Regional School District has begun a new educational year, the district is faced with the usual challenges that go with operating a district of 16,000 students.

This year, however, the district is faced with a serious financial threat that, district officials say, could dismantle a number of programs that have been put in place in recent years. Things such as full-day kindergarten, courtesy busing. Junior varsity, freshman and middle school sports. Those cuts could be just the start, however; under the state law signed this summer, S2/A2, the district stands to lose $70 million, cumulatively, over the next six years in state school aid.

Superintendent David Healy and district Business Administratpor William Doering have been pressing their message all summer, trying to rebut the arguments, primarily from State Senate President Steven Sweeney, that say the district — along with several others — is seriously overfunded. Doering said the truth is vastly different. The district already is $30 million under adequacy at its current enrollement, he said. At the same time, the number of children receiving free or reduced-price lunch has doubled to nearly 30 percent over the last 10 years, while state aid as a percentage of the budget has fallent to 28.7 percent. The cuts will simply turn that gap into a chasm. It sould mean the elimination of hundreds of staff positions.

"Kindergarten itself could be gone," Doering said. "Classroom sizes will skyrocket."

"This (the aid cuts) will seriously undermine the quality of Toms River Regional schools," Doering said.

The video message is posted on the district's website, and Healy, Doering and other district officials are urging parents to listen to the message and share it, and fight to get the cuts stopped.

"There is strength in numbers," Healy said, urging parents to share the video and take part in other efforts, including letter-writing campaigns,

"If we stand together and express a unified voice, we will emerge stronger," he said. You can see their message for yourself below.