Teacher for Keith Molinari

Keith Molinari, a current member of the Bernards Township Board of Education and former President is running again for his seat.

After studying his positions and understanding of the fiscal issues confronting taxpayers and parents, he anticipates what the state still has in store for our district. It’s complicated to say the least, but he understands it and has pragmatic solutions.

Like many other NJ school districts state-wide, the Bernards Township School Board is now struggling to keep the budget at bay so as not to sharply increase property taxes yet again next year.

State mandates unsupported by NJ state funding are crushing school boards into submission as they grapple with fiscal responsibilities and limitations. In 2018 the State of NJ started to phase in “formula changes” by shifting around aid among its districts for “full fairness.”

Professional Development Requirements
A chunk of change from a school district’s budget goes to Professional Development Plans. Here is a brief focus of one aspect of the state’s intervention in local education:

In New Jersey, administrators typically pay for the cost of state-imposed professional development through their district's budget. The New Jersey Department of Education mandates specific professional development requirements for educators, which may include funding for administrators as part of their overall professional development plan. Additionally, individual Professional Development Plans (PDPs) are required for all active school teachers, including administrators, which further emphasizes the responsibility of administrators to fund their professional development.
(The Official Website for the State of New Jersey)
(N.J.A.C. 6A:9-3)
(N.J.A.C. 6A:9C-4)
(N.J.S.A. 18A:6-128a)

What else is new? A self-sustaining bureaucracy ultimately expands and perpetuates itself at the cost of the taxpayer; in this case, it is the property taxpayer who must fund the local school district. Of course, this is coupled with the record-breaking cost of NJ state taxes which perpetuates the Trenton-based State Department of Education bureaucracy. As a result, School Boards’ hands are tied.

I am completely bypassing the issue of teachers encumbered by their Administration's demands to provide documented evidence of their conformity to state-mandated curriculum Standards.

Diverting Taxes from Suburbs to Cities
There are currently 31 cities like Newark with a subsidized budget in the State of NJ. These are the Abbot (SDA: Specially Designated Academics) Districts. This is why state funding is increasingly being denied or reduced to the likes of our suburban Bernards Township District and why our property taxes will inevitably continue to increase.

East Orange, NJ is an Abbot school district. A year ago it faced the throes of “100 staff lay-offs, teachers calling in sick in protest, reduced half-day school sessions, and substitute teachers” filling in to take charge of students left in a learning vacuum.
(ABC7 New York News October 17, 2024)

In Toms River, “district officials say their schools have been struggling due to New Jersey’s revised school funding formula, which they claim has stripped more than $175 million in aid from Toms River Regional schools since 2018…State officials told the district it would need to raise local school taxes…to balance next year’s budget.” Board of education President Ashley Lamb says, “‘We would have to impose a 12.9% tax increase on top of last year’s 9.3% increase--a cumulative 22.2% burden over two years. The state’s own flawed funding formula has created this crisis by underfunding our district by $107 million.’”
(Nyah Marshall, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. July 3, 2025)

State Senator Declan O’Scanlon, a member of the senate Budget Committee and the Senate and Assembly joint committee on Public Schools disclosed that “Newark Public Schools officials have budgeted a total of 2.8 million since 2023 for meals provided to the board of education members, teachers and staff at board meetings, back-to-school nights and other events…The Newark Board of Education
authorized…in three resolutions the spending of $200,000 on breakfasts, lunches, and dinners from 14 local restaurants or caterers.”
This year’s proposed state budget from Governor Phil Murphy earmarks Newark’s aid at 1.3 billion, or 83% of the district’s 1.57 billion spending plan for 2025-2026.
(Steve Strunsky, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. April 11, 2025)

Keith Molinari understands the shifting winds of the state storm. He’s been acutely insightful of the diminishing state funding and the Board’s lack of preparedness to brace for it by adjusting previous budgets--to save for a rainy day. His understanding of the issues is remarkable and his intelligent responses and actions to navigate through them make him a fine captain and someone I want on board--the Bernards Township School Board.

Loretta Quick Liberty Corner, NJ