Freehold Borough Asks State To Approve School Expansion, Increase District's Aid

Facing a school population that is nearly 500 students above classroom capacity and what it says is a $6.2 million shortfall in state aid, the Freehold Borough School District officials are begging the state for help.

In a news release on the district’s website, Superintendent Rocco G. Tomazic outlined two petitions that were sent to state Commissioner of Education David Hespe last week, seeking assistance.

One petition asks Hespe to authorize the district to bond for $32.9 million in capital improvements to add needed instructional space, the same amount of funding that has been rejected twice by voters this school year. Tomazic said the district currently has 1,643 students, with classroom capacity of 1,148. A report by the Asbury Park Press said the district is using any space it can find to relieve overcrowded classrooms, including libraries, technology labs and renting classrooms in Freehold Township.

The referendums -- first presented in September, and then a nearly identical one presented in December -- were defeated by similar vote totals: 374-273 the first time, and the second by 370-241, or fewer than 750 votes cast out of more than 5,000 eligible voters.

The second petition seeks an increase in the state aid the district is to receive. “On March 9, 2015 the board approved a tentative budget for 2015-2016 that uses all sources of revenue it can legally access, including the use of the remaining banked cap, various adjustments allowed for health insurance costs and increased enrollment, as well as the full 2 percent increase allowed on the tax levy,” the news release said. “The board has now used all the revenue legally allowed to be raised under its control since July 1, 2011, the point when the 2 percent levy cap first became effective.”

The release continues: “Despite these local actions, the board is still short $6.2 million dollars in state aid to which it is entitled under the School Funding Reform Act of 2008.”

“The challenges of Freehold Borough are well known to our state leaders and has even been covered in the Washington Post,” said Freehold Borough Superintendent of Schools, Rocco Tomazic. “We hope that the district can have underadequacy aid increased by $870,284 for 2015-2016 to align with the plan established in 2013 to reduce our severe underfunding,” he said, referring to a plan instituted by local legislators in 2013-2014 to close the school funding shortfall -- created by state aid remaining flat while the district’s enrollment has continue to rise -- to a much smaller gap in five years.

“We also look to the Commissioner to resolve the district’s lack of facilities, either by referring the matter to the legislature for action, or by issuing the construction bonds consistent with his authority,” Tomazic said.