A state audit found Newark Public Schools spent roughly $566,000 to build, equip and operate an employee fitness center with a full-time trainer, while sign-in records showed an average of only seven users per day.

NEWARK, N.J. — Newark Public Schools spent approximately $566,000 to construct, equip and operate an employee gym inside its leased administrative headquarters, only for state auditors to find that the facility averaged just seven users a day during the period they reviewed.

The finding was one of the most focused on examples of spending identified in a state audit of New Jersey’s largest school district.

The New Jersey Office of the State Auditor found that more than $300,000 was spent on construction of the fitness center without required formal board approval and through a process auditors said circumvented competitive bidding requirements.

The gym also came with a full-time trainer.

Seven Users a Day

The employee fitness center opened in November 2024 in the basement of Newark Public Schools’ leased administrative headquarters.

Auditors reviewed sign-in sheets covering several months in 2025 and found an average of only seven employees used the gym each day. All of those employees worked in the administrative building.

The district had also approved a $280,440 contract covering gym management from September 2024 through August 2026, including a full-time trainer.

The trainer cost $82,800 during the 2024-25 school year and $86,940 the following year.

For a district facing constant demands for classroom resources, staffing and student services, the $566,000 price tag raises a basic question about priorities: what else could that money have funded?

Auditor Says Money Came From General Fund

Newark Public Schools has disputed the way the gym spending has been characterized.

District officials said the fitness operation was supported with employee wellness funds connected to the district’s health benefits program.

State Auditor David Kaschak rejected that explanation based on the records his office examined.

“Documents provided to us by the district clearly indicate the expenditures for constructing, operating, and staffing the gym came from the district’s General Fund,” Kaschak said.

The gym finding has become part of a much broader debate over Newark school spending and oversight.

Audit Found Millions More in Questioned Spending and Missed Savings

The $566,000 gym was far from the only issue uncovered.

Auditors found Newark received approximately $6.7 million in excess state aid after overstating student enrollment by 128 students in both 2023 and 2024.

The district also paid $2.5 million upfront toward a planned museum and administrative project at the former State Street School. By May 2026, auditors said the project was a year behind schedule and Newark had not provided adequate documentation showing construction progress or explaining the delay.

Auditors also estimated the district could have saved $18.7 million over two years by participating in the state employee health benefits program, an analysis Newark disputed.

More than $700,000 was spent on three senior trips for which auditors said the district did not document educational objectives.

Those findings have intensified scrutiny of New Jersey education spending and whether money reaching struggling districts is consistently making its way to classroom priorities.

District Says Audit Found No Intentional Wrongdoing

Newark Public Schools has aggressively pushed back against the portrayal of the audit.

Superintendent Roger León said the district takes recommendations seriously.

“Newark Public Schools takes seriously every recommendation that can advance our progress and incorporates that feedback into meaningful, continuous improvement,” León said.

The district also issued a public statement declaring that Newark Public Schools came through the audit “with flying colors” and argued that auditors found no intentional wrongdoing.

But the audit itself went considerably further than a clean financial review.

The State Auditor referred “certain matters” discovered during the examination to the state Division of Criminal Justice. The report did not publicly identify which matters were referred or accuse León or another individual of criminal wrongdoing.

Fantasia Says Taxpayers and Students Were Hurt

Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, R-Sussex, who had raised concerns about Newark school spending before the audit was released, blasted the findings.

“This ‘I told you so’ doesn’t feel so good because kids, families, and taxpayers got hammered while apparently the board was dozing, elected officials deflected or buried their heads in the sand, and the superintendent ran the district like a drunk college kid on spring break with his parents’ credit card,” Fantasia said.

The gym provides a particularly vivid example of the broader questions raised by the report.

More than half a million dollars was spent to build, equip and operate a fitness facility with a full-time trainer. During the period auditors examined, an average of seven employees walked through its doors each day.

The controversy adds to continuing New Jersey and state news coverage surrounding school funding, accountability and government spending.