Dec. 11, 2018-- Toms River Regional 乐鱼体育s is one of 57 school districts named in a press release and official letter issued yesterday by the Support Our Students (SOS) advocacy group, a coalition of which the district is an active member.
The SOS statement is targeted at state legislators and New Jersey Department of Education leaders, and calls for an end to state cuts and a revision of the state funding formula which, the SOS coalition argues, is seriously flawed.
"Given the recent enactment of P.L. 2018, Chapter 67, and before irreparable harm is done to many school districts, their students, employees and their taxpayers," , "we the undersigned, the Support Our Students Advocacy Group- a statewide coalition currently representing 57 school districts and more than 138,000 students- are respectfully, but firmly, requesting that the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) immediately cease any further action in reducing state aid from affected districts (this action should not apply to districts scheduled for state aid increases) when developing allocations for the 2019-20 budget year until the material flaws in the state aid formula are evaluated and addressed. Districts are losing state aid based on Local Fair Share (LFS) calculations that have known and serious inaccuracies."
The letter is signed by superintendents and business administrators from 57 school districts throughout the state. Along with legislators representing every state district and NJDOE high-level personnel, the statement and press release were issued to media outlets and school district leaders throughout New Jersey.
Toms River Regional 乐鱼体育s' involvement in SOS and its role in developing and distributing the statement is a to fight drastic cuts to its state aid which, if not resolved, will result in the district losing more than $70 million over the next six years.
The full content of the SOS-issued statement and press release can be viewed via links to the right.