Donation From Charter School PAC To Mayor Criticized On Parents Site

RED BANK, NJ — A Red Bank public school parents' social media site is criticizing a donation to the mayor's re-election campaign from the NJ Public Charter Schools political action committee.

The $500 donation to Mayor Billy Portman is listed in a monetary contributions filing with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. It is listed among monetary contributions in excess of $300, according to the filings, which are public record.

There is an election May 9 for mayor and Borough Council members, and the contributions pertain to that race. See information about voting and the candidates here.

The financial reports for all the candidates are viewable at the site by putting in the current year and municipality of Red Bank. In the case of the Portman filing, download the April 11 PDF under his name to see the donation by the "NJ Public Charter Schools PAC."

Similar PDFs can be downloaded for all candidates, showing everyone's contributions and expenditures and balances remaining.

The issue on the Facebook parents site, one parent said, is the need for more state funding for Red Bank's two public schools - the Primary and Middle schools - and the issue of how the Red Bank Charter School's funding affects the district.

Tanya Ptak, who has children in the public school system, said she is an advocate for more state funding to Red Bank public schools. She also has access to the private Red Bank Public Parents and Allies Facebook site and described the comments as giving "thumbs down" to the donation given to the mayor.

Although the public Red Bank Charter School has existed for over 20 years in the borough, it's a sore point with public school supporters who feel that funding for the district's other schools has not kept up with their needs, Ptak said.

The Red Bank Charter School was granted a five-year renewal by the New Jersey Department of Education in February of 2022, despite the Borough Council and local school board urging the state to reject it, according to app.com last year.

"We just want an even playing field," Ptak said of the funding for the public schools.

Earlier in March, the Red Bank district was among those losing state aid under the S2 formula to equalize school funding. The original amount cut was $545,705 or a reduction of 5.85 percent in state aid. Later in the month, the state Legislature voted to restore a percentage of state aid to 161 districts facing cuts.

Ptak said for these reasons she would like the mayor to return the donation, and said she is "disappointed" he would accept it.

Portman had no response to a request for comment on the issue.