Toms River School Officials Told No Buses Allowed For State School Aid Protest

TRENTON, NJ — New Jersey legislators will host a rally and press conference Thursday at 10 a.m. to protest a school funding plan that would strip Toms River schools of $3.3 million in aid and take $2.2 million from the Brick Township schools.

The rally, set for 10 a.m. in Committee Room 6 in the State House Annex, is scheduled to include several state senators and assembly members, including 10th District Sen. Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Dave Wolfe and Greg McGuckin, as well as administrators, parents and teachers from a number of districts.

The announcement of the rally comes in the wake of plans initially announced by the Toms River Regional School District to send what they had hoped would be 100 school buses filled with parents, teachers, and other school employees to protest the school funding deal announced late last week by Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto. That deal would strip Toms River of $3.3 million for the 2017-18 school year just days before that school year starts. The Brick Township School District would lose nearly $2.2 million under the deal, according to information distributed by state legislators last week.

Toms River school district officals had announced plans late Monday to send busloads of people to Trenton to draw attention to the issue, which officials have said would be devastating, a message they delivered again Wednesday at a news conference at Toms River High School South.

Marc Natanagara, assistant superintendent, said he was told by phone late Wednesday morning that state officials were denying a permit for the district to send school buses to the Statehouse on Thursday to protest the cuts. Natanagara said that information was relayed by someone with the state police, but a woman who answered the media contact line at the New Jersey State Police said that would have been handled at the State House.

The district had been planning to send as many as 100 school buses; district Superintendent David Healy said bus drivers had volunteered their time to drive buses that the district hoped would be loaded with parents, students and other community members on the day after the Toms River schools let out for the summer. Graduation ceremonies were held at the district's three high schools late Wednesday afternoon.

If you wish to participate in the rally at the State House Annex, the directions are as follows:

Take Interstate 195 west (Exit 98 off the Garden State Parkway) to where I-195 connects to Route 29 toward Trenton. Follow Route 29 north through the tunnel and traffic lights and take the Memorial Drive exit. You will come to the light across from the War Memorial. Bear right after the light and as you approach another light you will see two exit lanes. Take the right-most exit which will bring you into the drive around the New Jersey State Parking Lot #5b. As you drive around the parking lot, you will see the sign "CAPITOL COMPLEX PARKING." Turn right just past the sign, proceeding through another traffic light. Bear left and stop at the blue guard station to let them know you are attending the public hearing. The guards will direct you to VISITOR PARKING as well as Committee Room #6.

Also participating are Sen. Jennifer Beck of the 11th District, Sen. Joe Kyrillos of the 13th District, Sen. Steven Oroho of the 24th District and other legislators. Parents, teachers, and administrators from Andover Regional, Brick, Eatontown, Middletown, Ocean Twp., Tinton Falls, Toms River, and other communities are anticipated to be in attendance.

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