JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ – The Jackson Township School District needs to cut staff and reduce costs. That’s the message provided by Jackson Council President Nino Borrelli at Tuesday night’s township council meeting.
Borrelli, a state worker who serves as the council liaison to the Jackson Township Board of Education, said he refuses to meet with school officials to discuss the issue.
He urged residents to vote no on Tuesday to a $4 million budget referendum that aimed to restore money cut from years of budget cuts at the hands of Governor Phil Murphy’s school funding formula. Officials at the Jersey Shore claim that the formula, which has been kept secret from the public, led to cuts at districts like Jackson since Murphy took office.
Siding with Murphy’s cut, Councilman Borelli became the face of the “Just Say No” movement to the ballot referendum in next week’s election.
Richard Egan, a retired New York City cop who lives in Jackson and raised his children in Jackson spoke at the microphone and asked Borrelli if he had met with Jackson school district officials to try to negotiate a deal and to find out why the funding was needed.
“No,” Borrellis said. “Are you saying you support a tax increase, Mr. Egan?”
Egan replied that he is not endorsing an increase or cut but felt that a true leader would at least talk to the district and work out a plan so that education could be fully funded and maybe explore other cost-cutting or money-saving options.
“Have you approached them about shared services to get their costs down?” Egan asked.
“No,” Borrelli responded.
Egan, an Army veteran read the U.S. Army’s leadership skill traits, then said, “You, Mr. Borrelli, are not a leader.”
School officials have reached out to Borrelli, but the councilman has told other officials that he did not want to meet with school officials until after Tuesday’s election.
“We have lost over $18 million from the state over the last few years. You have not felt the crunch, even with these cuts. You haven’t felt it because the administration did its due diligence to keep our district fiscally responsible. However, the belt is tightening to a dangerous level. Going forward you will feel it,” Jackson School Board Member Tina Kas said today. “Our class sizes are higher. The students are suffering, and the teachers are feeling the burn. Programs are being cut. Everyone says enrollment is down – it is not drastic numbers, and it was over a six-year period. The mental health issues plaguing our children and the learning losses from COVID need attention. Without these positions, the students will suffer even more.”
In Borrelli’s support against school funding, he effectively enforces New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s budget cuts at the Jackson School District.
Later, Egan told Shore News Network that his comments to Borrelli were neither in support of nor against the referendum, but the open dialog between the township and the district could have found some middle ground.
“As an elected official, it’s his duty to see if we can work out some kind of arrangement that could provide the funding, cut some costs, and maybe find ways the town and the school board can work together to share costs,” Egan said. “He wouldn’t even meet with the district. He represents over 50,000 people in town, including the children in our schools. He should have met with the district to see if anything else could be done.”
Whether you are going to vote yes, or no, the ballot referendum is on this year’s election ballot. On mail-in ballots it’s located on the opposite side of the ballot.