Lakewood, NJ - Board Seaking Legal Action for Funds That Were Mismanaged

Lakewood, NJ - The school board is planning to take legal action against the state Department of Education that could result in local private schools being reimbursed millions of dollars in services, which were never provided because the money went instead to public schools.

The Lakewood Board of Education voted to investigate why federal Title I money was mismanaged in Lakewood.
"I am also authorizing our attorney to take any and all legal action against the state and investigate our employees - past or present - for the disaster that occurred here," school board member Abraham Ostreicher said.

Though it was the Lakewood school district itself that misspent the Title I money, the school board is arguing that the fault lies with the state. The education department failed to provide sufficient oversight and training to district administrators, resulting in the mismanagement of Title I funds, the school board contends. "It appears to me that the state knew or should have known that the district's administration did not appropriately consult with the nonpublic schools as required by law," Ostreicher said. "Unbelievable and unacceptable."