LAKEWOOD - The public school district's newest hire has a spiky white mane, brown-and-white hair and apparently can't tell a carrot from a microphone.

Peanut the pony, who strutted into Lakewood High School last week, and his horse pals will be paid $45 an hour to provide therapy to special education preschool students in the public schools.

He made his debut in Lakewood the same night neighboring Toms River Regional voted to cut staff — a real-life example of winners and losers in the state's approach to school funding and a contrast that doesn't sit well for some.

Peanut represents a transformation for the deficit-prone Lakewood district.

Just two years ago, budget season was a frenzy of trips to Trenton to secure more cash necessary to fill perennial deficits that had slowly climbed to $15 million. The district has accumulated about $46 million in loans to balance its books and stave-off mass layoffs in recent years.

This year, the public fervor subsided thanks to an additional $30 million in state aid carved out for Lakewood in the governor's proposed budget.

The Lakewood Board of Education will hold a public hearing on its own $171.5 million budget, which includes the additional aid, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Lakewood High School, 855 Somerset Ave.

Unfortunately, Peanut is not slated to attend.

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Special funding for Lakewood

The budget includes a tax increase that would cost an average homeowner, with a home valued at $326,000, an additional $87 next year.

The state budget, which has yet to be approved by the legislature, includes special allocations for Lakewood: an additional $6.1 million for transportation and $8.9 million for special education programs. The governor's budget also creates a new school aid category — that also only applies in Lakewood, according to an analysis — and that results in the additional $15 million coming to the district.

A spokesperson for Gov. Phil Murphy declined to comment on the proposed budget and referred comment to the New Jersey Department of Education.

"The additional funding supports the district's responsibilities due to the large nonpublic student population in the community," education spokesman Mike Yaple wrote in an email.

There are more than 30,000 students in Lakewood who attend private schools, mostly Orthodox Jewish yeshivas. Meanwhile there are fewer than 6,000 public school students in town.

Public school district leaders and advocates for private school students argue the state funding formula doesn't work in Lakewood because it provides per-pupil dollars based on the public school enrollment but also requires districts to pay for services like transportation and nursing for the private schools. Lakewood's 2019-2020 proposed budget does not include increases for nonpublic services like textbooks, technology and nursing.

A Lakewood High School math teacher who has challenged the funding formula in administrative court won a favorable ruling late last year. The case was commended by district officials for prompting the state to provide more funds to Lakewood.

“Lakewood has been underfunded for years," Lakewood Board of Education attorney Michael Inzelbuch said, while also lamenting the cuts to other districts like Toms River.

The same night Peanut made his debut, Toms River Regional approved a 2019-2020 budget that cut 77 staff positions trying to accommodate a $2.8 million reduction in state aid. The decrease is the result of a statewide aid realignment that has left most districts grappling with how to adjust to less money coming in.

“Taking money from Toms River is a travesty, because the 70 staff members they’re not replacing, those are needed people," Inzelbuch said.

A history of mismanagement within the Lakewood public schools and some spending decisions — like Inzelbuch's more than $600,000 annual contract — have dogged the district with lingering concerns about spending.

Al Longo, a lifelong educator and Ocean County College professor who serves on a committee overseeing private school busing in Lakewood, questioned the state's decision to send millions more to Lakewood.

“How can the state turn around and give more money when that abuse is happening?" he asked, mentioning below-average student test scores and Inzelbuch's contract. "If it sounds like I’m skeptical, I am.”

Last year, dozens of parents took over a school board meeting to air concerns that public school students were taking a backseat to the needs of nonpublic school students.

But with a $30 million boost, Lakewood's school board meetings this budget cycle have returned to routine votes, student accolades and of course, Peanut.

Ponies in preschool

The waist-high horse batted his mane as his humans talked about the benefits of animal therapy.

Peanut, other ponies and dogs will begin working with Lakewood public schools' special education preschool classes this year, according to Inzelbuch.

The animals serve purposes depending on each child's specific needs, said public school physical therapist Kyna Darrow Bar. Horses can encourage good behavior, help with sensory issues, physical development and communication, she said.

"Each child is very individual at our preschool, and they all have different needs," said Darrow Bar, who will receive a $6,000 stipend to roll out the therapy program. "The goal is to let the ponies help meet those needs."

Kathy Rogers Taler of Care From the Heart, which provides the horses, said a 4-year-old child with anger issues and limited communication skills had started showing improvement working with Peanut.

Lakewood is the only district in Ocean County to offer equine-assisted therapy, according to Inzelbuch. The district hopes to continue the program next year as it also expands its preschool class offerings.

While overall enrollment in the public schools held steady between the 2014 school year and last year, preschool enrollment in Lakewood grew in that time from 202 students to 276 students, according to state data. About a fifth of all students in the district have special education needs, according to the district budget.

"We are increasing special education opportunities in district," said Inzelbuch, who specializes in special education law. "At the preschool level, we’ve already added a few classes. We are planning now on adding for this coming September, at least three, if not four, new classes."

Peanut will likely be there. In the Lakewood High School commons last week, the pony tried to nibble a microphone, mistaking it for a carrot snack.

He greeted several school board members with a nuzzle and received one loving pat on the nose from a lucky girl who was sitting in the audience's front row.

"Let's have a silent applause for Peanut, because we don't want to get Peanut too excited," Inzelbuch said as Peanut was guided out a back door.

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Stacey Barchenger: @sbarchenger; 732-427-0114; sbarchenger@gannettnj.com