Lakewood, NJ – March 17, 2025 – New Jersey education officials have blocked the reappointment of Michael Inzelbuch, the Lakewood Board of Education attorney who has been paid over $6 million since 2017, spotlighting a contentious debate over fiscal accountability in one of the state’s most financially strained school districts.
The decision, announced late last week, comes as Lakewood grapples with a deepening budget crisis, raising questions about how a district reliant on millions in state loans can justify such an exorbitant legal salary.
Inzelbuch, who returned to the role of board attorney in 2017 after an earlier stint from 2003 to 2013, has earned more than any other public school attorney in New Jersey, according to an investigation by the Asbury Park Press. His current contract, which provides a base monthly payment of $50,000 plus an additional $475 per hour for extra services—without requiring detailed hour logs—has drawn sharp criticism.
A February 25 report from the state Department of Education’s Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance (OFAC) slammed the arrangement, noting it was not competitively bid, a standard practice to ensure cost-effective services. The report also flagged the lack of accountability in Inzelbuch’s billing, fueling the state’s decision to intervene.
The rejection of Inzelbuch’s contract renewal for the 2025-2026 school year was enforced by Lakewood’s state-appointed fiscal monitor, who cited both the district’s dire financial straits and incomplete paperwork as justification. Lakewood Public Schools, serving just 4,460 public students but legally obligated to fund transportation and special education for over 42,000 private yeshiva students, has racked up $173 million in state loan debt—a figure set to climb to $238 million if a recently requested $65 million loan is approved. Critics argue that Inzelbuch’s lavish compensation, which hit $934,226 in the 2023-2024 school year alone, epitomizes mismanagement in a district pleading poverty.
At a heated Lakewood Board of Education meeting on Thursday, March 13, board president Moshe Bender defended Inzelbuch, asserting that his payments adhered to legal standards and were backed by itemized invoices. “Lakewood believes the state’s actions are not supported by facts or law,” Bender declared, announcing plans to file a petition this week to challenge the decision. He argued that the district’s legal costs, when adjusted to include its private school population, fall below the statewide average—a claim disputed by the OFAC report, which focused solely on public student metrics.
The state’s move has reignited long-standing tensions over Lakewood’s unique funding challenges. The district’s budget, which topped $238 million in 2023-2024, allocates over half its resources—$138 million—to private school mandates, leaving public students, predominantly low-income and Hispanic, underserved. A 2023 appellate court ruling found the state’s funding formula unconstitutional for Lakewood, yet systemic reforms remain elusive. Amid this chaos, Inzelbuch’s earnings have become a lightning rod, with Education Law Center founder David Sciarra calling them “an outrageous abuse of public tax dollars.”
Public reaction has been fierce. Parents and educators, already reeling from staff cuts and program losses, see the attorney’s pay as a symbol of misplaced priorities.
“We’re borrowing millions just to keep the lights on, and this guy’s making a fortune,” said Maria Torres, a Lakewood High School senior whose family has joined a lawsuit against the state for equitable funding.
On X, posts have echoed this sentiment, with users decrying Lakewood as “a perpetual source of scams” and celebrating the state’s intervention as a rare accountability measure.
Inzelbuch, who also runs a private practice representing special education families, has defended his record, claiming his work has stabilized the district through crises like COVID-19 and labor disputes.
“The legal process I established has proven successful while lowering overall costs,” he said in a statement last month.
But with Lakewood’s debt soaring and its public schools struggling—test scores lag, and absenteeism is up—many question whether his tenure has truly benefited students.
