A state monitor approved a school budget in Lakewood Tuesday night that saves the nearly 150 teachers in danger of being laid off. However, some athletic programs are still on the chopping block.
LAKEWOOD -- The nearly 150 Lakewood school teachers and staff members in danger of losing their jobs were officially brought back after the budget was approved Tuesday night.
However, five non-tenured librarians and some of the athletic programs are not included in the budget.
The athletic programs included in the budget are the soccer and track programs for both boys and girls. The football program is not included in the budget, but the township has agreed to pay for it, according to Superintendent Laura Winters.
"We're not giving up," she said of the programs that didn't make the cut. "We'll be working hard to get the remaining sports programs back. I believe that's important, so I'm not giving up on that."
Winters, whose contract was renewed for another three years, said she did not certify the budget at last night's meeting. It originally did not include money for several guidance counselor positions. The Board of Education went into a closed session, and found ways to reallocate money to save the guidance counselor positions, Winters said.
Still, the board did not vote to approve the budget, but it was approved by the state monitor, David Shafter.
The board faced a nearly $15 million budget shortfall and sent notices to 140 teachers and staff members warning them that they could be laid off. Those notices were rescinded last night.
The threat of losing that many teachers and slashing all athletic programs prompted Winters to implore the state to provide the district with $10 million in school funding.
The state Department of Education gave the district $8.5 million, which school officials called a temporary fix to a long-term problem.
Winters said for the past few years the district has voted against the budget, but it has been overruled by a state monitor.
She has said that the state does not recognize the costs associated with transporting the more than 30,000 non-public students to private schools.
Lakewood, a township with a population of 100,000 people, has 6,000 public school students. However, it is home to a large population of Orthodox Jews, who attend private religious studies schools.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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