By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD – The Freehold Borough K-8 School District Board of Education has filed legal action against the state because of what district administrators consider to be an unfair distribution of state school aid.
On May 11, the board filed a complaint in state Superior Court, Freehold, against New Jersey Acting Commissioner of Education Kimberly Harrington, the state Board of Education, the New Jersey Department of Education and the state. The complaint was submitted by attorney Bruce Padula.
The plaintiffs in the complaint are the Freehold Borough Board of Education, board President Michael Lichardi, resident Frank Argote-Freyre and residents Manuel and Melissa Rivera. Lichardi and the Riveras have children in Freehold Borough schools, according to the complaint.
According to a press release from the district, the purpose of the complaint is to obtain the appropriate amount of state aid assigned to the district by the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) and as required by the Thorough and Efficient (T&E) clause of the New Jersey Constitution.
“The objective of this extraordinary action is to compel responsible state entities to take affirmative funding action so that the Freehold Borough Board of Education can provide a Constitutionally mandated thorough and efficient education to all resident students in Freehold Borough,” officials said in the press release.
For the 2017-18 school year, Freehold Borough will receive $9.7 million in state aid, which is the same amount the state provided for 2016-17.
According to district administrators, the state’s flat funding is not compliant with its constitutional obligation to provide a thorough and efficient education to every student.
As alleged in the complaint, the defendants violated the T&E clause by failing to provide the necessary funding for the board to provide a thorough and efficient education measured by the New Jersey Student Learning Standards; the defendants violated the T&E clause by failing to fund the SFRA; the defendants violated the equal protection clauses of the state and federal constitutions; the local district state aid funding provided to the plaintiffs violates the SFRA; and the local district state aid funding provided by the defendants is arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.
The complaint asks the Superior Court to declare the alleged failure of the defendants to fully fund the SFRA to be arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable, which will result in a violation of the T&E clause; to mandatorily enjoin and direct the defendants to provide appropriate state aid to the plaintiffs so the board can provide its students with the New Jersey Learning Standards; and to mandatorily enjoin and direct the defendants to fund Freehold Borough at a level which provides the district the opportunity to provide a through and efficient education.
Each New Jersey school district is assigned what is referred to as an adequacy level of funding and Freehold Borough administrators say their district is $9 million under its adequacy level and $14 million underfunded in state aid.
Student enrollment has been steadily increasing. From 2007-16, enrollment increased from 1,363 to 1,710 pupils, according to district administrators, who said the schools are short 50 teachers
During an April 24 meeting, district administrators said the district’s two elementary schools and one intermediate school have classroom space for 1,148 students, but 1,713 students are enrolled – an overcapacity of 565 children.
As of May 8, district administrators said 1,722 students are enrolled, increasing the overcapacity to 574 children.
Some students are educated by Freehold Borough teachers in nine classrooms that are rented in the neighboring Freehold Township K-8 School District.
“Freehold Borough has experienced extraordinary student growth over the past eight years,” officials said in the press release. “This growth has occurred side-by-side with state aid funding decisions that have ignored school law and have been arbitrary and capricious in their nature.
“As a result, not only does the aid which the state provides prevent the district from providing a thorough and efficient education by the state’s own adequacy standard, but the children of Freehold Borough are now experiencing irreversible educational harm. The district and Board of Education are compelled to act in order to carry out their responsibility to provide a thorough and efficient education,” the district’s representatives said.
The Department of Education had no comment on the legal action.