Toms River Regional board votes to sue NJ for more school aid

Jean Mikle | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Toms River Regional board members talk about impact of state aid cuts Toms River Regional school board President Russell K. Corby and Vice President Joe Nardini urge the public to help the board fight state aid cuts.

TOMS RIVER - Toms River Regional has joined a growing list of districts that plan to sue the state commissioner of education in an attempt to block state aid cuts.

The Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday to join Brick, Jackson and other districts that plan to sue state Education Commissioner Lamont Repollet, whose department oversees the distribution of state education funds.

Toms River Regional lost about $2.4 million in state aid this year, but stands to lose more than $70 million over the next seven years, Superintendent David M. Healy said.

The cuts would force Toms River Regional to reduce staff, increase class sizes and slash other spending, school board President Russell K. Corby said. School taxes would likely rise, he said.

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"It's safe to say, everything is on the table," Corby said Wednesday night, in response to South Toms River resident Anna Polozzo's question about potential program and staff cuts.

The board agreed to pay the Weiner Law Group of Parsippany up to $5,000 to represent Toms River Regional in the litigation. The board will have to hold an additional vote if more money is needed for the suit.

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The state Legislature adopted an amended funding formula last summer that redirected aid from districts with declining student populations toward those where aid had not kept pace with growing enrollment.

Under the new state budget, school aid was reduced for many of the largest districts in the Shore area, including Toms River Regional, Brick, Freehold Regional and Middletown.

But other districts, such as Long Branch, Freehold, Red Bank Regional and Rumson, received more school dollars.

Toms River Regional's enrollment has dropped to about 16,000 students, from a high of about 19,000 in the early 2000s. Children from Toms River, Pine Beach, Beachwood and South Toms River attend the regional district's 18 schools.

Corby acknowledged Toms River Regional's declining enrollment, but said the funding formula is fatally flawed.

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"There are great flaws, and that is what this lawsuit is going to expose," he said.

Dozens of residents and staff members attended Wednesday's meeting, with many wearing "Red for Ed" to show their support for education.

Scott Campbell, president of the Toms River Education Association, the district's teachers union, said the entire community must become involved in order for Toms River Regional to be successful in its pursuit of additional aid.

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"There has to be collective action," Campbell said. "The TREA will pledge to help in anything that's needed."

Board members agreed.

"We have to fight like hell to get this money back," board member Michael Horgan said.

Resident Bridget Maillard, who started a Change.org petition in August that urged Gov. Phil Murphy and the Legislature to restore Toms River's school aid, said she's frustrated that more people have not signed it.

There are about 9,500 signatures on the petition.

"We have 100,000 people in this town," Maillard said. "We should have far more signatures on that petition than we have. We are struggling to reach 10,000, and it's sad."

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com