Lumberton Officials call on State to put children first and fix school funding disaster
For Immediate Release: Monday March 1,2021

(Lumberton)- Mayor Gina LaPlaca and Deputy Mayor Rue Ryan today called on State officials to reinvest in our children’s education in the wake of the announcement by the Department of Education that funding for the Lumberton Township School District would be drastically slashed this year.

“These are challenging and difficult times for families all across New Jersey. This past year has seen record unemployment due to the global pandemic and increased costs for schools and families alike, the last thing we should be doing is cutting our investment in our children during this time.” Mayor LaPlaca said.

Last week the State Department of Education announced that it was cutting nearly 13% of the District’s state aid this year, an $893,250 loss in funding which is on top of a 10% cut in funding the District was forced to absorb last year.

“In just two short years our school district has lost over 20% of its funding while having to make additional investments in health and safety equipment to protect our students and staff. This massive cut in funding has made it extremely difficult to maintain staff and provide a thorough and efficient education.” We need to be increasing our investment in our children and our educators not reducing it.” stated Ryan.

In a letter to the Governor and local Legislative leaders, Lumberton’s municipal leaders requested that they investigate new ways of funding our schools that ensure that all schools receive proper funding.

“As Lumberton Township continues to grow, we could potentially see an increase in our student population, and the District has informed us that they can no longer absorb these continued reductions in aid without significant program cuts. Without changes to the school funding formula, the school district may have no choice but to lay off some of our hardworking educators that have dedicated their lives to our future generations.” according to Mayor LaPlaca.

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