New Jersey Begins Legal Process to Place Lakewood Schools Under State Control
Today, New Jersey began the legal process to take over the Lakewood Township School District following years of warnings, court orders, and state action. State officials believe the district’s long-standing academic, budgetary, and operational failings have prohibited pupils from receiving a quality education mandated by the state constitution.
The New Jersey Department of Education issued an Order to Show Cause, the first step toward a state takeover. Lakewood schools must justify why the state shouldn’t take over. If the New Jersey State Board of Education approves, state-appointed administrators will run the district without local authority.
For over a decade, the state has worked with Lakewood schools to solve major issues affecting kids, families, staff, and taxpayers, according to the Department of Education. State officials say the district has failed to improve despite warnings, audits, corrective plans, and funding. Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said the state must intervene when local systems cannot fix problems, especially when students are hurt.
This comes as Governor Phil Murphy’s term nears its end and a state leadership shift is imminent. The timing shows state leaders’ urgency in the long-building problem.
A fast-growing New Jersey town, Lakewood Township boasts a unique school system. The township has almost 50,000 school-aged children, but just 6,000 attend public schools. Most attend private religious schools for the township’s significant Orthodox Jewish population. State law requires the public school system to transport many private school pupils and cover special education fees. These legal duties strain district finances.
Lakewood spends over half of its $78 million budget on transportation and special instruction for nonpublic school children, according to court records. Over time, state loans have kept the district afloat. Lakewood owes $173 million to the state after borrowing $220 million since 2014. The state gave the district a $65 million emergency loan last year to pay teachers.
Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court determined in September that Lakewood pupils were experiencing a constitutional violation. Judges noted that district leadership had repeatedly neglected and mismanaged state recommendations despite substantial scrutiny and support. The state’s takeover decision was accelerated by this ruling.
Responsibility disputes have persisted for years. District officials blame the state’s school financing mechanism for Lakewood’s financial problems. State leaders have blamed internal mismanagement for the main issue. After state officials denied the district’s veteran attorney’s reappointment, whose contract earned him over $6 million over seven years, tensions rose. After reviewing the contract, an administrative law judge found that it hurt the district financially.
The takeover would resemble governmental involvement in Newark, Paterson, Jersey City, and Camden. Lakewood would be New Jersey’s first suburban school district under state authority. The state appoints managers to supervise finances, academics, transportation, and special education in place of the superintendent and school board. Local voters would temporarily lose decision-making power, but the state hopes for long-term stability and better student performance.
Lakewood officials can now reply to the Order to Show Cause. The State Board of Education will consider those responses before intervening. Before then, the case emphasizes the ongoing argument over school finance, accountability, and local autonomy vs. state responsibilities when students’ constitutional rights are at risk.
Sources
New Jersey Department of Education
New Jersey State Board of Education
New Jersey Superior Court (Appellate Division)
