Garden State Patriot

The amount of money New Jersey taxpayers pony up is bad enough, but this ought to just make you angry.

DeCROCE GRILLS EDUCATION COMMISSIONER
ON QUESTIONABLE SPENDING BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS  

TAX DOLLARS USED TO FUND CLOWN SCHOOL, FLYING LESSONS, TRIPS TO RESORT DESTINATIONS – EVEN BRASS APPLES 

            As school districts throughout the state grapple with budget cuts resulting in layoffs, school closings and reduced funds for extra curricular activities, some continue to spend tax dollars on questionable and frivolous items, such as trips to resorts, gourmet meals and gifts for teachers.

            At today’s hearing by the Assembly Budget Committee, Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce will question State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy about instances of questionable spending practices and why they are still seen despite her previous assurances that improvements would be made.

            “At a time when people are struggling to make ends meet and denying themselves even simple amenities, it is outrageous that some school districts believe that they are entitled to travel and eat at places that most people only dream about,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic.  “In today’s economy, one has to question why we are spending taxpayer dollars on things that have no educational value.  People who cannot pay their mortgage or utility bills will understandably be upset when they learn of the ways money is being squandered.”

            DeCroce said an examination of vouchers from a sampling of school districts that were obtained under the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) demonstrate a need for stronger monitoring of expenditures by the state, which has provided billions of dollars in state aid, with the largest share going to Abbott districts.

            “While there is some good news that conditions have improved in a few areas, the bad news is that there are still school districts spending taxpayer money on trips to places like Miami, Palm Springs, New Orleans, and Orlando,” continued DeCroce.  “And they are staying at posh hotels such as the Four Seasons and Royal Sonesta.  Apparently certain districts haven’t heard that everyone is tightening their belts, and that they must do the same.

       “Far too many students in these districts are still lacking in the basic skills such as reading and math,” said DeCroce. “What this analysis indicates is that we must have even greater oversight and accountability to guarantee that the billions of dollars we spend on education are spent wisely and in the classroom.”

            Beginning in February, Assembly Republicans submitted OPRA requests to 11 school districts throughout the state. Three districts – Willingboro, Tenafly, and Hoboken – were non-responsive to the initial and follow up requests. Two districts – Teaneck and Pemberton – did not exhibit instances of wasteful spending.  However, numerous examples of highly questionable spending were evident in Camden, Newark, Cherry Hill, and Plainfield.

             “At a time when most districts are being forced to drastically reduce spending, it is incumbent on those receiving additional funding to recognize their responsibility for budgeting wisely,” continued DeCroce. “Unfortunately, we are still seeing too many instances where that lesson has not been learned.  For several years we have heard that oversight would become a high priority within the DOE.  These examples of waste suggest that this issue still is not being vigilantly monitored. ”

            Some notable examples of imprudent spending occurred in Newark, where $25,000 was allocated for eight students to take flight lessons, and $1,400 was spent for a workshop on Clown Arts. At this seminar students were taught balancing, juggling, and the history and challenges of clowning.

            Taxpayers are also paying $10,000 just to film each installment of the Newark School Superintendent’s monthly cable television show, and that teachers in Newark can be compensated at the doctorate level as long as they have obtained a Masters Degree and 30 additional credits. Actual completion of the course work is not required.

            And while Camden was purchasing engraved bells to ring on the opening day of school in 2007 and buying insulated lunch bags and brass apples for its teachers, Plainfield was spending taxpayer dollars to send students to a dude ranch in New York.

(more…)

Alice’s Restaurant blog has another in a series of posts demonstrating the outrageous size of New Jersey government’s departments and bureaucracies. In her latest post, Alice outlines the Department of Labor & Workforce Development. I have also linked to her previous posts on other departments below.

• New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development
• New Jersey Department of Human Services
• New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services
• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
• New Jersey Department of Education
• New Jersey Department of Corrections
• New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs
• New Jersey Department of Commerce
• New Jersey Department of Children & Families
• New Jersey Department of Banking & Insurance
• New Jersey Department of Agriculture

Remember, the next time anyone ever says to you where can we cut government in New Jersey, just refer them to these posts.

While most Americans place great value on education and are willing to spare no expense to provide children the best education possible, unfortunately many of these dollars are eaten up by education bureaucrats. Such is the case in New Jersey.

In an article published in yesterday’s Bergen Record, BCRO Finanace Chairman Joe Caruso exposes some of these outrageous salaries made by superintendents, administrators and other state education employees.

It’s time the average school district was forced to be as frugal with our tax money as the average family is with its money.

The fact that schools are forced to turn down the heat in classrooms, cut school trips, reduce programs, operate fully loaded buses and increase class sizes is not cause for hand-wringing. Rather it is to be celebrated as a heavy dose of financial reality that has been lacking for too long in New Jersey’s school system.

I attended a grammar school in Staten Island, where my class size was 28 to 32, depending on the year. My learning experience there was excellent and far less costly than public schools in New Jersey are today.

The school superintendent of the City of Passaic, Robert Holster, says that 80 percent of his budget goes toward staff, thereby making cost cutting difficult. If a private sector business ran with that much staff overhead, it would be out of business in no time.

In Passaic, according to information from the state Education Department’s Web site, it cost $15,860 to educate a child in 2007. Of that amount, $7,954 goes to teacher salaries and benefits and more than $1,000 to administration salaries and benefits. Only $310 goes to classroom books and supplies.

What’s wrong with this picture? Plenty.

Salaries

Let’s start with Holster’s salary: He earns $212,000 a year and his assistant superintendent makes $195,276. The business administrator makes $195,000 a year.

This is in a city of 67,000 people with a median household income of just $27,691. This is also a city that receives $200 million a year in state aid paid by people who don’t live in Passaic.

How can Holster justify his overpaid staff? He can’t and he’s never been asked to.

The top 36 administrators in the Bergen County Vocational High School are paid $3.9 million in salaries, not counting health benefits and pensions. Many of these are unnecessary or duplicate jobs that could be handled by the county (the school employs three people to handle grants writing).

Robert Aloia, who heads the Bergen County Vocational and Special Services District, makes $231,000 a year, plus $80,000 in other allowances; the assistant superintendent makes $181,000.

It’s no wonder that it costs taxpayers $24,000 to educate a single student at the vo-tech high school. And it costs $55,000 to provide educational services to a single student at the special services school. These numbers are staggering for taxpayers and unsustainable.

In Paramus, where the superintendent was bemoaning delayed computer purchases, the cost to educate a student at the high school is $14,729. Classroom salary and benefits represent $6,700 per student and administration salary and benefits are $1,220 per pupil — so nearly $8,000 of the per pupil costs, or 54.3 percent, are taken up by salaries.

Overall, eight administrators in Paramus make more than $100,000 and seven make more than $90,000.

While educators talk about increasing class size, none mentions cutting salaries or positions.

In district after district in New Jersey, you will find similarly outrageous salaries in a top-heavy bureaucracy that survives to perpetuate itself. And while the salaries are outrageous enough, keep in mind that the administrators and staff receive generous pension and health benefit packages.

Joe goes on to point out that the pensions made by these workers are, quite simply, ”bankrupting the state.”

In addition to these outrageous salaries and pensions, New Jersey taxpayer money is also being wasted by the state’s School’s Development Authority. In a post at Alice’s Restaurant Blog, Alice points out how the Authority is spending money to build new schools rather than simply renovating the one’s that are currently on site. She links to pictures of the school’s which show that they are actually in decent condition and hardly in need of being torn down and replaced with a completely new building.

Lastly, if you don’t think New Jersey’s education bureaucracy is too big, I’d also recommend this post from Alice which lists out every division in the New Jersey Department of Education. And, yes, it’s a long list.

As Mr. Caruso pointed out in his piece, it is time for New Jersey’s education bureaucracy to do more with less (particularly in these trying economic times). New Jersey taxpayers are already paying more than enough on education. These dollars need to be used more wisely and the bureaucracy itself needs to be trimmed down considerably.