Monmouth County Lawmakers Request Meeting to Solve Middletown School Funding
March 20, 2025
Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn and Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger are requesting a meeting with Gov. Phil Murphy and the education commissioner following a Middletown Township School District Board of Education meeting on a budget proposal that includes closing two elementary schools to address funding gaps.
The announcement to close the Leonardo and Navesink elementary schools, and move the middle school students to make room, blindsided many parents in the district and is not a long-term solution, say Flynn and Scharfenberger in a letter to the governor and Education Department Commissioner Kevin Dehmer.
The district is in the works to sell Port Monmouth Elementary School, shuttered in 2020, to the county and administrators have suggested the Leonardo building could also sold or leased for revenue.
“Closing schools should never be the solution in Middletown or any other district faced with that state-forced choice. Selling schools only provides one year of savings and does not address the underlying issue of insufficient state funding long-term,” they wrote.
Middletown is struggling with a $10 million budget gap, which has been compounded by yearly cuts in state aid and increased costs. The real loss is closer to $60 million when considering inflation, said Superintendent Jessica Alfone.
Under Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed budget, Middletown would receive the state-capped 6% increase in aid. That leaves the district $2.1 million underfunded.
“The school district would have received $2.9 million in the upcoming school year if not for the 6% cap,” the letter says. “Without the cap on aid increases, these financial challenges would not be so severe.”
If the board does not adopt the budget by its April 30 meeting, the district may be forced to fire 120 employees, cut programs and increase class sizes.
The Monmouth County lawmakers have sounded the alarm on school funding for several years without a response and now have reached a breaking point.
“The state needs to lift more weight. We would greatly appreciate the chance to meet with you to discuss potential solutions. We have reached a boiling point where the issue must be addressed properly to ensure the continued well-being of schools across the state,” Flynn and Scharfenberger said.
