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District leaders blame state funding formula for years of cuts and staff reductions
Summary
District officials told the board the state funding formula (referred to as 's 2') and related state budget guardrails have produced cumulative funding losses and forced hundreds of position cuts, special-education cost increases and program reductions.
A school official identified in the transcript as Seto told the board that changes tied to a 2017-18 reallocation (referred to in the meeting as "s 2") have produced a cumulative loss to Toms River that he placed at $137,000,000 and described a pattern of cuts and program loss over seven years.
"We have endured program loss. We've had endured turmoil," Seto said, and he later listed specific staffing reductions: "We've cut 304 positions since 2017: 222 teachers, 72 non-certificated staff members, 10 administrative positions, 2 directors and 1 assistant superintendent." He warned the cuts forced staff shifts back into classrooms and increased class sizes.
Seto described demographic shifts that increased cost pressures: economically disadvantaged students rose from 20% to 44%, English-learner counts rose from roughly 100 to about 1,000, and special-education spending rose sharply. He said the district had to add special-education and ESL staff even after prior cuts and that the district has "sold assets to keep programs intact."
Seto said the district is pursuing legal remedies and scheduled a hearing on May 9 to respond to a motion to dismiss in the district's case challenging aid allocations. He framed the problem as a legislative and formula issue rather than an internal management problem.
