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Job Cuts, 'Ridiculous' Class Sizes, Sports Nixed: NJ Schools Face Budget Woes

By eliminating 368 staff positions and pushing class sizes up to 60 or more students, according to Toms River Regional School District Superintendent Michael Citta. The school district of roughly 14,500 pupils already reached an agreement to sell 17 acres of land to Toms River Township to help fill a hole in the district's budget last year, though Citta warned the district would face a far worse problem in 2024-25.

"It has been a rough couple of weeks," Citta told the district's Board of Educat
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Wages Fall In More Than Half Of NJ Counties, New Data Shows

NEW JERSEY — While New Jersey remains near the top of the list of U.S. states with the highest average salaries, residents in 13 of the 15 largest counties in the state saw wages drop last year, according to new federal data.

The latest figures, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last month, report as much as a 3 percent decline in average wages from the third quarter of 2022 to the third quarter of 2023 in some parts of the state. Monmouth County saw the largest average wage loss at 2.
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Kids’ Summer Curfew With $250 Fine May Be Coming To NJ Shore City

The 10 p.m. curfew, which passed unanimously on its first reading, will begin May 15 for those under 18. Children supervised by parents, traveling to or from work or participating a school, religious or recreational activity will be exempt, the ordinance reads. Parents who knowingly let their kids violate the curfew will face a $250 fine.

North Wildwood Police Chief John Stevenson said police officers will not stop young people who aren’t “creating problems” or causing disturbances, but the ord
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Were NJ Bridges Inspected After 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake?

But how quickly were bridges in the state inspected in the aftermath? The New Jersey Department of Transportation's in-house inspection teams were sent into the field “immediately” to inspect NJDOT’s bridges near the earthquake epicenter in Hunterdon County following the April 5 quake, NJDOT press manager Steve Schapiro told Patch.

The teams were instructed to inspect all the bridges along interstate and state highways, working systematically outward from the epicenter. Operations staff inspect
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Were NJ Bridges Inspected After 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake?

NEW JERSEY — The 4.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked the Garden State earlier this month caused water main breaks in Randolph Township, unstable and “leaning” homes in Newark and even partial facade crumbling to a 264-year-old mill in Readington that fed George Washington’s troops.

But how quickly were bridges in the state inspected? The New Jersey Department of Transportation's in-house inspection teams were sent into the field “immediately” to inspect NJDOT’s bridges near the earthquake epic
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19 Hospitalized From Botched Botox Shots Sold In NJ, Elsewhere: CDC

NEW JERSEY — Counterfeit or mishandled units of botox, an injection used to smooth wrinkles, are being investigated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after at least 19 women in several states reported harsh reactions to the product, the agency said Monday.

The bad botox, which hospitalized nine of the 19 women to date, was sold in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee and Washington, the agency said. Four of the women were “treated with
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Free Tree Program Nixed By NJ Officials In 2024: Here’s Why

NEW JERSEY - Two annual tree reforestation programs helmed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection — including a free seedling program for young residents — won’t be offered in 2024 due to inventory issues, Patch has learned.

The affected Tree Seedling Catalog and 3rd Grade Free Tree programs distribute hundreds of thousands of seedlings annually via the New Jersey Forest Service Nursery in Jackson (Monmouth County), state officials said. But “unforeseen circumstances,” includi
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40 Quake Aftershocks And Counting: See Where NJ Is Still Rumbling

NEW JERSEY - More than three dozen earthquake aftershocks have been reported around the Garden State since Friday morning’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The strongest aftershock occurred near Gladstone at 3.8 magnitude about 6 p.m. on Friday, the USGS said. The most recent aftershock was recorded Sunday evening at 1.3 magnitude near Califon. More aftershocks are likely to follow, USGS officials warn.

"According to our forecast, there is a 1% chance of one
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New NJ School Performance Reports Released: See District Rankings

The New Jersey Department of Education released the latest School Performance Report this week, with school districts scored from 0 to 100 based on factors like standardized test scores, student academic growth and graduation rates, among other metrics. Some measures, like academic growth, are now included in reports again after the Department of Education canceled statewide assessments in 2019-20 and 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The data shows a 91.1 percent four-year graduation rate (
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After Baltimore Bridge Collapse, A Question: How Safe Are NJ Bridges?

NEW JERSEY — The catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday is raising questions in New Jersey and elsewhere about the overall safety of bridges.

A federal Transportation Department report last year broke down the condition of the 6,820 in New Jersey. Of the total number of bridges, 1,766 are in good condition, 4,612 are in fair condition and 442 are in poor condition. Those bridges include 3,034 that are part of the National Highway System and are eligible fo
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How Segregated Is Your NJ School? See District Breakdown

NEW JERSEY - More than 130 of about 700 Garden State K-12 school districts are considered segregated with at least 80 percent of students of one race, and 41 school districts with at least 90 percent of students of one race, according to a Patch analysis.

The school districts span from Bergen to Cape May counties and consist of 103 majority-white schools, 15 majority-Black schools and 25 majority-Hispanic schools, according to 2022-23 enrollment data released by the New Jersey Department of Edu
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What The New Affordable Housing Law Means For NJ Homeowners

Touted as a significant reform for one of the most expensive states in the nation, the legislation aims to move the responsibility of municipal affordable housing quotas for low- and moderate-income families from court settlements to the Department of Community Affairs, which will rely on a formula for mandatory affordable units lifted from a 2018 state Supreme Court decision. “One of our Administration’s top priorities has been to establish New Jersey as a national leader in expanding affordabl
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Domestic Terror Poses Greatest Threat To NJ, Homeland Security Says

The agency's latest threat assessment, published last month, noted white racially motivated extremists will focus on attacking vulnerable targets due to "high casualty potential" and writing or posting hateful material to threaten others and share their motivations. White supremacist attacks have resulted in 51 deaths and 53 injuries in the last five years, the office said, with a third of all attacks and threats from domestic extremists in the U.S. taking place in the Garden State and surroundi
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2.6K Bias Incidents Fueled NJ's Largest Hate Crime Surge to Date: AG

Over 2,699 bias incidents reported in the state last year marks the highest annual total on record since the state began tracking them in 1994, according to preliminary data released by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office this week. Findings show dramatic increases in incidents targeting Black individuals, with 1,101 incidents making up more than 34 percent of all bias incident reports last year (a 10.5 percent increase from 2022's reports). 497 bias incidents in 2023 were motivated by anti
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Bill Seeks To Block Traffic Fines For NJ Drivers In Other States

The bill, dubbed the Automated Enforcement Inoculation Act (S-3067), would bar the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and other state agencies from providing personal information found on New Jersey drivers licenses to other states for the purposes of collecting a fine for violations captured via camera ticketing systems. The cameras work by capturing a drivers' license plate if caught speeding, using plate information to access personal data (such as name, address, phone number and social secu
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New NJ Bill Would Protect Librarians Amid U.S. Book Ban Push

Dubbed the “Freedom to Read Act,” S2421 was introduced last month by primary sponsors Sens. Andrew Swicker (NJ-16) and Teresa Ruiz (NJ-29). The bill would require school and public library boards to create policies regarding which books should be in school libraries and how books may be removed, as well as prohibit dissenters from suing librarians over the reading options made available in accordance with those policies. The guidelines will be based upon a model policy drafted by the State Libra
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‘Broken’ NJ Parole System Denies Over 50% Of Cases: New Report

NEW JERSEY - A "broken" parole system that grants applicants release less than half of the time must be reformed by ensuring eligible applicants have access to a lawyer and confidential documents that influence parole decisions, according to a new report released by state officials this month.

The report, published Feb. 2 by the Office of the Public Defender’s Parole Project, found that in 2017, 2018 and 2019, more than half of parole applicants were denied release; 2020, which saw a 52.7% rele
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Teachers With Sex Abuse History Still Get Hired In NJ, Report Says

The report, published Tuesday by the State Commission of Investigation, found that problem educators have too much leeway in deciding what information about their past to report to a prospective employer; school officials can also misinterpret rules or simply cover up allegations and findings of sexual misconduct after an educator leaves their district. Furthermore, there isn't a state agency tasked with ensuring schools and educators are in compliance, nor is there a standardized process for re
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Biggest Boosts, Cuts To NJ Schools Under New Aid Plan: See The List

NEW JERSEY - Nearly 200 New Jersey schools could see five figure state aid increases under a new state budget proposed by Gov. Phil Murphy this week, and over 130 districts could even see six or seven figure raises.

Per the $11.7 billion funding plan unveiled in Trenton on Tuesday, 422 school districts will see increases in state aid and 137 will see cuts, according to figures provided by the state. 15 school districts won’t see any changes in funding year-over-year. Read more: New NJ School Ai
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New NJ School Aid Amounts Released: Who's Getting More?

NEW JERSEY — Dozens of New Jersey school districts may see cuts to K-12 state aid this upcoming school year, according to new figures released this week.

More than 60 school districts will see funding cuts in double-digit percentages, according to proposed district-by-district funding data published this week. Another 200-plus school districts are poised to see aid increases in the double digit percentages. During his annual budget address to legislators Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy noted the prop
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5 Big Takeaways From Murphy's Budget Address

Murphy’s address, delivered Tuesday before a joint session at the New Jersey state house in Trenton, outlined a budget surplus of over $6 billion with an emphasis on affordability, health care and infrastructure improvements in the Garden State. "It is for the working- and middle-class families of New Jersey that we have crafted our proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal year," Murphy said in his remarks.

"It is a budget ... that will make life more affordable for more families by lowering costs a
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Patient Abuse, Deaths In NJ Psych Hospitals Detailed In New Lawsuit

The 99-page lawsuit, filed in federal court last week by advocacy group Disability Rights New Jersey, names New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman, New Jersey Department of Health Acting Commissioner Kaitlan Baston, as well as the respective agencies and the state of New Jersey as defendants, alleging state leaders did not do their jobs adhering to federal discrimination laws while caring for 1,150 patients around the state. “These abusive conditions involve patient-o
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NJ’s Highest Paid School Administrators: See County Breakdown

NEW JERSEY - More than 3,200 New Jersey administrators made salaries of $150,000 per year or more and five made over $300,000 a year during the 2022-23 school year, according to the latest data from the state Department of Education.

The latest figures represent an increase from 2,556 administrators — including superintendents, principals and assistant principals, curriculum directors and other employees in administrative positions — who made at least $150,000 during the 2021-22 school year, ba
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‘Superbug’ Infection Spreading In NJ, Around U.S.: See Latest Data

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, C. auris is an "emerging fungus that presents a serious global health threat” that kills about one-third of people who contract it. The fungus is mostly found in health care facilities, particularly in long-term acute care hospitals and nursing homes that use ventilators. As of Jan. 1, 2024, there were 1,668 total recorded cases of the “superbug” in New Jersey since 2015, with 384 cases reported in 2023 — the highest number record
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