Residents urge board to press state lawmakers on aid cuts; LTA highlights expired staff contract

At the Lacey Township School District board meeting, members of the public urged the board to press state lawmakers about aid reductions and urged swift attention to a local union contract that remains unresolved.

“I never imagined that I would be focused on school budget season,” resident Rhiannon Mendez told the board, arguing that local testimony to Trenton legislators can influence decisions and citing that “149 districts faced state aid cuts” last year. Mendez named Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds‑Jackson and Senator Vin Gopal as legislators to contact and urged residents to submit written testimony or attend legislators’ meetings.

Jen Bentley, vice president of the Lacey Township Association and a third‑grade teacher at Winokah Harbor School, used public comment to summarize recent school activities and to press the board on labor relations. Bentley said the LTA has been without a contract since June 1, 2025, and asked the board to “renew our contracts and make your staff one of your top priorities.”

The board did not respond during public comment; the chair had earlier read the meeting’s public comment rules, noting that the board would not engage in back‑and‑forth during the allotted remarks. The meeting record shows the board later handled routine agenda items and discussed budget planning in committee reports.

Why it matters: Speakers framed state aid reductions and an expired staff contract as potential drivers of local budget decisions. Board committee reports during the meeting reiterated that budget planning for the 2026–27 school year is underway and that the district anticipates pressures related to special‑education staffing and overall funding.

What’s next: Board members noted upcoming budget work in the finance committee and said they will continue planning; no formal board action on the contract or a public plan for negotiations was recorded in the meeting minutes provided.