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Board, mayor and township warn rising McKinney‑Vento placements could strain Hanover Township budget
Summary
Superintendent Justin Toomey and the district liaison outlined McKinney‑Vento requirements and local counts; administrators and the mayor warned that hotels being used as temporary placements are driving transportation and tuition costs that may force tough budget tradeoffs unless state reimbursement or enforcement stops new placements.
Hanover Township officials on Tuesday described a sharp and continuing strain from McKinney‑Vento placements — students temporarily displaced and living in hotels, motels or doubled‑up arrangements — and urged state action and local coordination to blunt mounting costs.
Superintendent Justin Toomey reviewed federal and state McKinney‑Vento requirements, including immediate enrollment and the duty of the district liaison to identify and support affected students. He said the district added a McKinney‑Vento screening form to the registration process and that liaison Sherry Copin follows up directly with families to determine eligibility.
"We just found out late last week that we have two students living in one of our hotels and motels that...they've been there for 365 days just about. So now as of two weeks from now, we are financially responsible, and we're the district of origin," Toomey told the board, describing the rules that make a district the 'district of origin' after 365 days in temporary residence.
Copin supplied operational counts and transport details: she reported in‑district general education and special‑education students identified as McKinney‑Vento, plus students the district currently transports to other towns. Business figures presented during the discussion used the district's cost‑per‑pupil to estimate that in‑district expenses for identified students exceeded several hundred thousand dollars, and that combined in‑district plus out‑of‑district costs were approaching the low‑seven‑figure range.
Board members and Mayor Thomas Gallagher said the placements are being coordinated by state and county actors in some cases and that hotels have been backfilled in a way the township seeks to stop. The mayor described meetings with the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Education to secure voucher placements and temporary satellite services; the township attorney said notices of violation have been issued and federal litigation is pending with hotel owners.
Board members debated whether to contest individual placement appeals using the "best interest" standard, press the state for different funding or reimbursement, and pursue legal or policy remedies to prevent continued backfilling of hotels. Several local officials urged aggressive legal and intergovernmental action while reaffirming the district’s commitment to educating children immediately under existing law.
Next steps cited at the meeting included continued coordination with township and state agencies, pursuing grants and alternate revenue streams, and monitoring placements to determine whether the township can secure a consent order or cease‑and‑desist on new hotel placements.
