WATCH: Assemblyman Schnall To State: Stop Ignoring Lakewood’s Education Funding Needs

Assemblyman Avi Schnall forcefully defended Lakewood’s embattled school district during a committee hearing for Kevin Dehmer, New Jersey’s Acting Education Commissioner, as he seeks confirmation for the permanent role. Schnall commended Dehmer for his efforts in keeping Lakewood’s schools financially afloat while drawing attention to the glaring inequities in the state’s education funding formula.

During his remarks, Schnall stressed the financial burdens Lakewood has shouldered, particularly the immense costs of providing English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction and busing services for tens of thousands of private school students—costs that the state fails to consider in its funding calculations. Despite these additional expenses, Lakewood has struggled to secure adequate funding from the state, forcing it to rely on emergency loans to maintain essential educational services.

Schnall’s speech immediately followed one by by Assemblyman Alex Sauickie, who represents neighboring Jackson. Sauickie sharply criticized the state’s recent $65 million loan to Lakewood, arguing that Jackson is also facing a severe budget shortfall but has not received similar financial assistance. However, Sauickie omitted a crucial detail—Jackson’s budget issues stem from a very different cause.

Unlike Lakewood, which continues to see growing student populations, Jackson’s public school enrollment has been in steady decline for several years. The dataset below illustrates the drop in Jackson’s student population from 8,518 students in the 2016-17 academic year to 8,160 students in 2018-19. The numbers have continued declining in the 2020’s, with Jackson losing hundreds of more students, as the second data set illustrates. This decline in student enrollment has led to funding cuts under the state’s formula, which ties school funding to the number of students enrolled. While Jackson does face challenges in busing private school students, the scale of the issue is far smaller compared to Lakewood.