Questions about Spending at MTPS Persist

The controversy over how to balance the Middletown Township Public Schools (MTPS) budget shows no signs of abating, with calls for transparency continuing at the May 20th meeting of the Board of Education (BOE). The plan to restructure MTPS in a matter of months mobilized many concerned citizens and spawned the “Save Middletown Schools” movement. The plan, which was proposed on March 18th without warning, was to close three schools at the conclusion of the current academic year. According to Superintendent Jessica Alfone, massive layoffs and cuts or school closures were the only way to prevent state intervention. Strong advocacy within the community resulted in a different outcome.

Some residents argue that MTPS has been underfunded for years, and this underfunding is what resulted in a surprising tax increase needed to prevent school closures or layoffs. Others believe that there has recently been an attempt to divide the community, shift accountability, and overstate the tax increase. In a Patch opinion piece that drew criticism as being misleading, Anthony Mercantante, who is a Middletown Township administrator, classified the “Save Middletown Schools” movement as a “small group of loud and angry people” who are responsible for an “unconscionable” tax hike of 10.1%. But according to tax information provided by Save Middletown Schools, the 10.1% increase applies only to the portion of property taxes allocated to the school, not to the entirety of residents’ property taxes, making it effectively a 6.2% increase. Additionally, the piece did not address the role that the BOE’s spending has played in the MTPS budget shortfall. To counter Mercantante’s piece, a concerned citizen penned an article demanding transparency and accountability from the BOE and Alfone.

Debate Over Financial Oversight

The superintendent has cited the district’s growing deficit as a primary driver of recent decisions. As BOE member Joseph Fitzgerald stated in an April 29 Patch article, MTPS began the 2024–25 school year with a $5 million shortfall. Without intervention, the deficit was projected to increase to $10 million in 2025–26 and $15 million in 2026–27. Superintendent Alfone has pointed to declining funding and rising costs as key factors behind the budget shortfall. However, some residents have questioned this explanation, noting that both state funding and local property taxes have increased in recent years (njspotlightnews pg. 19, MTPS budget).

In prior BOE meetings, community members have asked why the impending deficit was not addressed sooner, as the money in reserves has been steadily drained over the last few years. They also raised concerns about the BOE’s minimization of strategic planning during the last five year cycle, a process that guides spending. Others have expressed frustration over budget priorities, citing recent investments in athletics—including new scoreboards and turf fields, which strike many parents as peripheral, especially as academic and mental health support are now being targeted for cost-savings. Over the last several months, residents have noted that the BOE has pursued partisan issues, which has led to less attention to the strategic planning and budgeting.

Questions About Board Governance

Jeff Warshauer, a Navesink parent and Corporate Governance Officer for the NJ Division of Investments, referenced MTPS policy during the 5/20 meeting when questioning BOE President Frank Capone’s dual role as board president and chair of the Finance Committee. “The committee chairperson and members should be appointed by the board president,” Warshauer noted, citing policy language found in Board Docs (57 min.). He then questioned whether Capone had appointed himself as president of the finance committee. Capone clarified that his appointment was a board decision, a point that appears to be inconsistent with the current language of the BOE’s documents. As Warshauer pointed out, Capone’s dual role as chair of the Finance Committee and president of the BOE reduces oversight and concentrates power.

Concerns About Transparency

Scott McPherson, another community member, remarked that “transparency is the theme” of recent discussions involving the BOE, adding that he had difficulty locating public information about staffing changes (1:02). “It appears that four elementary schools are going to be losing full-time reading and math specialists,” he said (1:03). While McPherson did not speculate on the finality or necessity of these changes, he nevertheless urged the district to improve transparency by clearly communicating such decisions in advance.

During the meeting, the BOE was asked to clarify recent decisions multiple times. To which Capone cautioned, “This isn’t a back and forth.” Emily Donahue took this opportunity to respond, clarifying that board members are permitted to reply to questions from the public unless the topic requires further investigation (1:06). In fact, many see the “back-and-forth” at BOE meetings as a way to facilitate open discussion and improve transparency.

Others at the 5/20 meeting suggested that BOE policies should be publicly reexamined and potentially amended to better serve the community, as Warshauer and others noted. In light of the budget crisis and impending threats of school closures, Eric Dowell urged the BOE to revisit its criteria for school closures (1:01). Dr. Alfone did not initially seem receptive to these suggestions when she countered that the BOE has to “follow the law.” But, as Kristin Rooney pointed out, MTPS leadership has “changed policies in the past” (1:07). Joan Minnuies, longtime member and former BOE president, expressed her support for potential policy edits.

Prior Decisions and Legal Challenges

The revised policies Rooney referenced involve MTPS’s alleged violations of the confidentiality rights of marginalized students and its failure to follow public health measures, both of which resulted in legal fees that were paid by the residents of Middletown. Since Frank Capone and Jaqueline Tobacco joined the BOE in 2020, they have garnered national media attention for their advocacy on cultural issues, which has resulted in multiple lawsuits by the state. In 2022, led by Capone and Tobacco, the BOE failed to apply for millions of dollars in state stabilization aid. Yet, when asked to raise taxes to prevent the closure of multiple schools in 2025, Capone and Tobacco both voted against this measure, citing their responsibility to taxpayers.

Changes to Mental Health Services

Another major topic at the 5/20 meeting was the district’s decision to scale back its partnership with Effective School Solutions (ESS), a mental health services provider. ESS will continue at the same level in the high schools, but its services will be discontinued in elementary and middle schools. Superintendent Alfone said the district plans to hire in-house clinicians to expand support for younger students and that ESS will continue to evaluate all “fit-to-return” cases. Yet, board documents for the 5/20 meeting list Behavioral Health Services—not ESS—as the contractor for “fit to return” evaluations, with additional payments of $575 for each case (pg. 5). Discrepancies such as these have led to confusion about the district’s mental health services and spending. Another parent who spoke anonymously after the 5/20 meeting expressed concern over the change: “Having a clinician who is not a district employee has been an important ingredient of the success of the ESS program.” This source also was skeptical that internal support would maintain the same level of independence and clinical effectiveness—concerns that were echoed by Erika Lucchese at the BOE meeting.

Alfone explained that the decision to scale back ESS services was a direct result of the budget shortfall, as these services were initially funded by federal COVID-era grants, which have since expired. According to Alfone, ESS currently serves a small portion of the student body (about 70 children who have IEPs). However, parents in the community have noted that non-IEP students have also benefited, raising questions about the full impact of discontinuing ESS in elementary and middle schools.

School Safety and Spending Priorities

The cost-sharing for Class 3 police officers in MTPS schools was another point raised on 5/20. The district currently spends $1.2 million annually to heighten security, exceeding the $1.1 million that it spends on ESS services. Some residents have wondered why there was no public vote prior to the district’s hiring of the class 3 officers, citing towns like Little Silver, which held a formal vote to determine community support for similar expenditures. Ashley Studd questioned why MTPS did not honor an earlier commitment from Mayor Tony Perry to share the cost of class 3 officers, a practice with precedent in neighboring towns.

To many, the class 3 officers are believed to be an effective investment in school safety. Yet, comprehensive data calls this assumption into question. Data-driven approaches to school safety call for robust mental health support and greater attention to holistic prevention strategies. In a report from The Baker Institute at Rice University, “bullying [was found to be] a significant factor” in a child’s decision to bring a firearm to school. Additionally, this study found that an effective way to prevent school shootings involves “implementing behavioral threat assessments and improving bystander responses to bullying” (2025).

Bullying, which is partially responsible for the poor mental health of so many youth, has a negative impact on all students–whether they are bystanders, aggressors, or receivers. One lawsuit related to bullying involves the parents of Jocelyn Walters, an MTPS North student who died by suicide in 2022. Research has shown that one of the best ways to reduce these deaths of despair is to address the mental health crisis, as 87.3% of suicides occur in people who have been “diagnosed with a mental disorder” (BMC Psychiatry). Sadly, the current youth mental health crisis in the US is so dire that American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) have all declared a “national state of emergency in children’s mental health” (2021). The struggles of Middletown students reflect these national developments.

Keeping young people safe in schools is a paramount priority. The real debate is how to best mitigate risk. While school shooting are highly publicized events, they are much less prevalent than suicides. According to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics, over the last fifteen years, there are—on average—less than 100 deaths attributed to school shootings in the entire country each year. Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death of young people, behind unintentional accidents (NIH). The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reports that, on a yearly basis, “suicide claims more lives than war, murder, and natural disasters combined, and yet suicide prevention doesn't get anywhere near the funding given to other leading causes of death” (AFSP). As is often the case in schools and other institutions, funding priorities are influenced by perception and personal values.

Community Engagement in Strategic Planning

The strategic planning process exists to clarify the values that will inform priorities, guide implementation, and assess outcomes. With the 2025–26 budget now approved, MTPS leadership has scheduled a series of strategic planning meetings for May 29, June 16, and August 28. Community members are encouraged to register their interest via a Google Form.

While some residents remain hopeful that these meetings will improve communication and collaboration, others remain cautious or skeptical. Recent calls for transparency speak to a larger theme of shared accountability. In the end, parents, taxpayers, and community members are not separate interest groups that should be baited into battling each other in public forums, and as many in the “Save Middletown Schools” movement have noted, the identities of members within these groups are largely intersectional. Ultimately, Middletown residents all want high-quality schools within a township that’s affordable. This is a goal that’s functional, not political. And while partisan politics have fractured the larger national discourse, it remains to be seen if the current BOE will be able to facilitate inclusive and responsive deliberations to ensure an outcome that best reflects the priorities and values of Middletown.