Toms River board warns $26.5 million cut would force drastic staff reductions and massive class sizes

A district finance official told the Board of Education on March 27 that a modeled $26.5 million reduction in state aid would compel deep staffing cuts and sharply larger class sizes.

"If we reduce the regular ed elementary staff by 168 staff . . . class sizes in elementary school would be 76 students per class," the official said while describing an "impact statement" that the district shared with board members. The presenter also said the district is about $55 million below the state TNA (typical need amount) benchmark and that by statute the district cannot sign a budget that does not provide TNA.

Why it matters: Board members said those downstream effects — including the potential need to place students in out-of-district special-education programs — would likely raise costs rather than lower them. The presenter estimated that cutting 50 self-contained special-education classes could generate an estimated 480 additional out-of-district placements at an added cost of about $36 million, roughly $4.8 million of which he attributed to additional transportation costs.

Board members pressed staff to share the document broadly and to continue advocacy with state officials. "We will continue to take the stance ... that we cannot move forward without the appropriate dollars for efficient education in Toms River," one member said, urging continued engagement with the Department of Education and legislators.

The transcript-recorded example also included an estimate of a state monitor's cost in a neighboring district tied to a state-aid advancement: roughly $166,000 per year for a monitor working three days per week, the presenters said; that cost was described as being charged to the state-aid advancement in that case.

What the board will do next: Board members asked staff to circulate the impact statement to the full board for review and indicated the board will continue efforts to secure additional state assistance before the next school year. No formal vote on cuts was taken at the committee meeting.

Quotes from the meeting are attributed to speakers as recorded in the meeting transcript. The district identified the fiscal scenario as illustrative and said it would not recommend pursuing the cuts described in the model.