{"id":10193,"date":"2025-07-02T08:54:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T12:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/?p=10193"},"modified":"2025-07-02T08:54:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T12:54:26","slug":"toms-river-school-board-rejects-disastrous-state-ordered-tax-hike-prepares-for-bankruptcy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/2025\/07\/toms-river-school-board-rejects-disastrous-state-ordered-tax-hike-prepares-for-bankruptcy\/","title":{"rendered":"Toms River School Board Rejects ‘Disastrous’ State-Ordered Tax Hike, Prepares for Bankruptcy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Toms<\/a>

Toms River, Brick and students from 70 other districts across New Jersey attend a rally in Trenton over school funding cuts, March 5, 2019. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Toms River school board members this week called a massive, state-imposed tax hike \u201cunconscionable\u201d and is planning additional legal action \u2013 including the initiating of rare Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings \u2013 in the wake of nearly $200 million in state funding cuts over seven years have decimated the district\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n

The board this week rejected what would have been a state-ordered 12.9 percent tax hike a year after the state Department of Education overruled the board and imposed a 9.3 percent tax increase on residents within the regional district. The tax increases, which would eclipse 22 percent over just two years, would have come at the behest of the department after Gov. Phil Murphy \u2013 in a deal with former Senate President Steven Sweeney \u2013 passed a new school budgeting formula that de-funded Toms River Regional by about $175 million over a seven-year period.<\/p>\n

District officials and local advocates have, for years, argued the state has short-changed children in the state\u2019s largest suburban school district, with most calling the formula flawed for over-estimating the district\u2019s wealth and residents\u2019 ability to pay higher property tax bills. Some have pondered whether the cuts to districts in Ocean County may have been politically motivated, given residents\u2019 strong Republican leanings at the voting booth. In lieu of the restoration of funding, the state legislature passed a measure that would temporarily authorize Toms River and several other districts to exceed the state\u2019s caps on tax levy increases in order to make up for some of the lost funds, however the increase would be borne by local residents by way of higher property taxes.<\/p>\n

Regardless, the district will defy an order from the Department of Education that was penned by Assistant Education Commissioner David Corso that instructed board members to either accept a state-authorized 12.9 percent tax increase or shut down district services immediately, potentially leaving students in the district\u2019s extended school year programs in a lurch. The extended school year program generally serves students with disabilities or those who need specific services to tide them over between school years in order to maintain educational proficiency, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf \u2026 the board fails to approve a budget for FY26 at the board meeting [Monday] evening, it is prohibited from expending any funds, or operating any educational programs past today\u2019s date, until a budget for FY26 is approved,\u201d the letter from Corso said. \u201cAccordingly, the board and administration must initiate closure procedures and activities to ensure no funds are expended until a budget for Fy26 is approved.\u201d<\/p>\n

The board rejected both the tax increase as well as the directive from the state to shut down programs, holding that the district has laid off more than 250 staff members, sold its headquarters building, sold open land near one of its schools and increased class sizes to deal with the cuts so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a final measure, the board has authorized district officials to consult with bankruptcy attorneys and begin the process of filing for Chapter 9 federal bankruptcy protection \u2013 a move that would provide the district protection from creditors while developing a debt adjustment plan,\u201d a statement from the district said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The RWJ Barnabas Health Arena at Toms River High School North. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

District officials also raised concerns that while Toms River\u2019s funding has been cut, other districts have been floated loans and and temporary financial relief by the state. Notably, Lakewood\u2019s school district was granted a $65 million loan in February and is now pursuing an additional $100 million loan from the Department of Education. It has also seen state relief on funding to transport private-school students to school, having been allowed to create a school transportation utility separate from the public school district.<\/p>\n

The precarious financial situation has drawn the concern of Ocean County\u2019s state legislators, though their calls for changes to the formula have largely fallen on deaf ears in Trenton, where the all-Republican delegation is in the minority.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: this is not a spending problem. Toms River is one of the most efficient and fiscally responsible districts in the state,\u201d the legislators from districts 9 and 10 said in a joint statement. \u201cThis is a revenue problem, created entirely by a deeply flawed and politically driven funding formula, implemented with zero transparency and even less accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toms River boasts one of the lowest administration costs, per pupil, in the state, officials have said. Its per-pupil spending is also below the state average. The formula seeks to reduce state funding to the district based on what it perceives as residents\u2019 ability to pay higher property taxes to support the district given real estate values, income and other factors, as well as a statistical decline in enrollment compared to the height of student populations in the late 1990s and early 2000s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand with the Toms River Board of Education in rejecting any further attempts by the Murphy administration to force impossible tax increases on already overburdened residents,\u201d the statement from the legislators said. \u201cForcing a 22.2% cumulative tax hike over two years is nothing short of outrageous. Toms River taxpayers deserve better. Our students deserve better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both state and local officials have questioned whether the funding cuts \u2013 as well as the order to shut down education services in the absence of accepting the state\u2019s allowance for tax increases \u2013 would violate the New Jersey state constitution\u2019s mandate that students be guaranteed a \u201cthorough and efficient\u201d education. Ending such programs could also be construed as violating students\u2019 Individualized Educations Plans, which delineate legally-mandated services that must be provided to students with learning or physical disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe board emphasized its commitment to fulfilling constitutional and federal obligations, including providing appropriate education to special education students and maintaining Extended School Year programs critical to many students\u2019 Individualized Education Programs,\u201d Board President Ashley Lamb said. \u201cThis Board has a fiduciary duty to our taxpayers and will not subject them to punitive tax increases created by the state\u2019s funding failures. More importantly, we have an ethical obligation to our students. The state may order us to delay services, but we will continue to do what\u2019s right for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

With regard to the potential bankruptcy filing \u2013 on which Shorebeat will report with more detail in the coming days \u2013officials made it clear that the type being pursued is a rare measure that can be taken by governmental entities to restructure debt in the absence of other sources of funding. Educational programs will continue during the process, should it ultimately be undertaken.<\/p>\n

The resolution specifically directs the superintendent, administration, and faculty to \u201ccontinue to do all things necessary and proper to ensure that all students continue to receive an uninterrupted thorough and efficient education, and that all special education students continue to receive uninterrupted free and appropriate education.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to attempt to engage the DOE in finding a solution that best serves our community,\u201d Lamb saod. \u201cBut make no mistake \u2013 we will not abandon our students or compromise their education while the state refuses to address the crisis they created.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Toms River school board members this week called a massive, state-imposed tax hike \u201cunconscionable\u201d and is planning additional legal action \u2013 including the initiating of rare Chapter 9 bankruptcy proceedings \u2013 in the wake of nearly $200 million in state funding cuts over seven years have decimated the district\u2019s finances. The board this week rejected […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2056,2057,1080,11,64],"class_list":["post-10193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-toms-river-schools","tag-2025-26-school-budget","tag-chapter-9-bankruptcy","tag-featured","tag-toms-river-nj-news","tag-toms-river-regional-schools"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/sos_rally_trenton_0305_122-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10194,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10193\/revisions\/10194"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/tomsriver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}