N.J. education chief gets an F for civil rights record

If New Jersey Education Commissioner David Hespe were being graded for his civil rights record, he would get an F. His treatment of the Freehold Borough schools violates the basic principles set forth in the landmark school desegregation case -- Brown vs. Board of Education.

More than 6 months ago, an administrative law judge, chosen by Hespe, ruled that the Freehold Borough schools were “severely overcrowded”, and that a $33 million bond ordinance should proceed. The bonding would provide for 23 new classrooms, a gym, a cafeteria, and a new library. Judge Susan M. Scarola found in her December 16 ruling that "overcrowding seriously impedes and has impeded the ability of the students, both general education students and special-education students, to access their education and to achieve the core-curriculum objectives." Judge Scarola went onto to add that the students in the borough were not receiving the “thorough and efficient education to which they are constitutionally entitled.”

Why is this a Civil Rights issue?

Approximately 73% of the Freehold Borough students are Latinos surrounded by school districts that are predominantly white with sufficient funding and adequate facilities. As we look at the educational landscape in the region, we see a system that is neither equal nor integrated. It is separate and unequal.

Because of the economic means of the parents and the lack of regionalization at the elementary school level, which is typical of New Jersey, the children of Freehold Borough are segregated into one school district within a town that measures 1.9 square miles. The fact that 77 percent of the students qualify for free lunches because of the income of their parents is one measure of relative wealth. A decision by Hespe would not address the “separate” piece of the problem, but it would have a significant impact on the “unequal” aspect of the Freehold Borough school dilemma.

Enrollment in the Freehold Borough schools continues to climb as a result of immigration and other economic factors, while in the surrounding affluent districts enrollments are decreasing. Add to this the fact that Freehold Borough spends around $11,500 a year per student, compared with surrounding districts that spend between $13,500 and nearly $21,000 per student, and the full measure of educational inequality becomes apparent. The Freehold Borough case is likely part of a statewide pattern of underfunding districts with high Latino and immigrant populations but this is an analysis that is still under study by the Latino Coalition and its statewide partner the Latino Action Network.

In any case, six months after the administrative law judge set forth her findings, Hespe still cannot seem to come to the obvious conclusion; the Freehold Borough schools are overcrowded. Of course, Hespe is part of an administration whose governor views running the state as a hobby. We are a test tube for Governor Christie as he tries to strike the right tone on a national level to position himself for a place in a possible Trump Administration.

Just last month, Governor Christie presented a school funding formula that would reduce state funding for economically disadvantaged districts by setting a flat state payment per student of $6,599 regardless of the tax base of the school district. This is the type of hard-hearted policy pronouncements we have become accustomed to from our part-time chief executive. It is a policy that would further hurt school districts like Freehold Borough already coping with flat funding and overcrowded conditions. It is also a proposal that Governor Christie knows will not pass the State Legislature, but he doesn’t care because it fits into a divisive national campaign plan to divide people along race, ethnicity and socio-economic status. For New Jersey, Christie’s national focus amounts to a policy of neglect.

Is it that same policy malaise that has afflicted Commissioner Hespe with regards to making a decision on the expansion of the Freehold Borough schools? Has Governor Christie blocked Hespe from making a decision on the expansion? Or is it that Hespe just doesn't care about the more than 1,700 children of Freehold Borough that face another school year in overcrowded facilities?

It is hard to know what Commissioner Hespe is thinking about, but it obviously is not about fairness, justice, or civil rights. Almost 200 days have passed since Judge Scarola ruled in favor of the school expansion. Commissioner Hespe, it's time for you to do your job, and make the right decision for the children of Freehold Borough.

Frank Argote-Freyre

27-year resident of Freehold Borough and

Director, Latino Coalition of New Jersey [LCNJ]

(908) 670-0552