State legislators cite oversight failures and unmet student support goals.
Trenton, N.J. – Three New Jersey lawmakers are calling for a federal investigation into how Newark Public Schools spent nearly $287 million in COVID-19 relief funds, raising concerns about oversight, transparency, and whether the aid reached students most in need.
In a March 31 letter to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Sen. Parker Space and Assemblymembers Dawn Fantasia and Michael Inganamort requested “an immediate federal review, and, if warranted, a referral for investigation into the use of COVID-19 relief funds by Newark Public Schools in New Jersey.” The lawmakers added that “public reporting raises serious concerns about misuse, misrepresentation, and a lack of oversight involving federal dollars intended to address student learning loss.”
The funding was intended to help students recover from pandemic-related disruptions, particularly those considered at risk. However, the lawmakers said spending decisions were “not clearly tied to measurable academic improvement,” raising questions about how the money was used.
Concerns over spending and student outcomes
The letter outlines what lawmakers describe as a gap between funding and services delivered to students. “A total of 15,803 students were recommended for tutoring, yet reportedly only 1,938 actually received it—just 12 percent of those identified as needing support,” the legislators wrote.
They also cited a $1.4 million literacy consultant contract approved in September 2023 using federal funds.
“Nearly a year later, the consultant acknowledged that the work never began,” the letter states, adding that “there has been no clear public accounting of what happened to the funds.”
Key Points
- Lawmakers request federal probe into $287 million in Newark COVID relief funding
- Only 12% of students recommended for tutoring reportedly received services
- $1.4 million consultant contract allegedly resulted in no work performed
Additional concerns were raised about the procurement process. Lawmakers wrote the consultant “was not certified in New Jersey” and that her proposal contained “basic errors,” yet it was still approved over more established organizations.
They also pointed to declining student performance linked to prior work by the same consultant, noting “a dramatic drop in fourth-grade reading proficiency—from approximately 34.7% to 10.6%—at a school where she had been engaged,” calling it “a measurable collapse.”
Call for oversight and accountability
The lawmakers also raised broader concerns about statewide oversight, noting New Jersey is among ten states identified as failing to provide clear justification for how learning loss funds were used.
“Taken together, the failure to deliver contracted services, the lack of transparency surrounding the disposition of funds, and the documented decline in student performance point to a breakdown in both fiscal oversight and educational responsibility,” they wrote.
They urged the U.S. Department of Education to conduct a formal review and consider referring the matter to the Office of Inspector General. “Federal funds intended to help at-risk students recover cannot be approved, allocated, and left unaccounted for while outcomes worsen,” the letter states.
