Camden students bring concerns about budget cuts to New Jersey Department of Education

From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.

At least two dozen Camden students traveled Wednesday to Trenton to protest looming budget cuts being made to the state-run school district, voicing frustration and fear over what the reductions could mean for their education.

And they didn’t come alone.

Community members and representatives from the Camden Education Association, New Jersey Education Association, NAACP New Jersey State Conference Youth and College Division and New Jersey Working Families Party also showed up to support the student-led rally outside of the New Jersey Department of Education building.

A meeting of the state Board of Education was taking place at the same time as the rally, which was visible to board members through a window in the room where the meeting was taking place.

Several students spoke of their hurt that more than 100 people, including teachers and a cast of support staff, will be laid off to cover a $91 million budget deficit. The deficit was announced by state District Superintendent Katrina T. McCombs on April 30, along with a series of moves to balance the budget, including the layoffs.

“I am devastated,” said Kevin Duncan, a Camden High School student. “There is no emotions and words that can describe this feeling that I’m feeling today.”

Kevin added that the cuts really bothered him, saying that his school does not have a media center where people can gather and “explore new ideas and be curious.”

“Curiosity is key in my upbringing,” he said. “I’ve always been a curious person.”

In the weeks leading up to the rally, community activists were encouraging residents to register to speak before the board at their June meeting. But a notice on the state’s website a week before the meeting said “public testimony will not be held as there are no topics for the month of June.”

“Don’t you think [the board] should at least made a special space, an amendment in the budget to say ‘let these children come and speak?’” asked Ronsha A. Dickerson, a Camden resident and executive director of the Camden Parent and Student Union, who rode with the students on the bus to Trenton.

Students outside of the building spoke of the disappointment in not seeing teachers and support staff, many of whom are viewed as family.

Ja’ Qui Bennett, a junior at Creative Arts High School, said the family and operations coordinator, or FOC, at his school was an integral part of his academic career.

“She’s part of my center. She helped us get to where we are,” he said. “She helped my mom when she needed help. I just feel like it was wrong for her to be let go.”

Michael Warren, a longtime social studies teacher with the district, said he is concerned about students returning to the classroom next year without the support that they have relied on to be successful.

“When you’re not receiving the emotional support that they need, they’re not going to be able to function at the best level in the classroom,” he said. “It is to no one’s advantage to see these support services, from our FOCs to our deans to our school-based youth services personnel, to be without positions.”

In addition to the personnel cuts, Morgan Village Middle School will be converted into an alternative school. Students in grades 6-8 will attend class at their neighborhood family schools.

The leadership at the Camden High School campus will be consolidated. Home to four high schools – Big Picture Learning Academy, Brimm Medical Arts High School, Camden High School and Creative Arts High School – the number of principals will go from four to one, who will be supported by four “lead educators” or vice principals.

Ja’ Qui had concerns about the new consolidated structure. He said each principal was unique to their respective high school.

“They all have a different culture,” he said. “We all have different knowledge, different things, and I feel like we are a variety, and I shouldn’t just be brought down to one person.”

McCombs mentions the budget deficit to the state school board

McCombs spent more than an hour before the state Board of Education and Commissioner Kevin Dehmer. She presented the progress the district has made over the last year. It is her last time presenting the annual report before she leaves the district to formally join the department in July as assistant commissioner for the Division of Early Childhood Services.

She has blamed the budget shortfall on declining enrollment and increased payments to charter and Renaissance schools. The cuts and restructuring come despite the Camden City School District benefitting the most from Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget proposal among other districts in South Jersey.

“The simple reality is that we are operating a system built for almost twice as many students as we currently serve,” she told the board. “That includes maintaining buildings, staffing levels and programming for an enrollment base that does not currently exist.”

McCombs said more school closures, like the ones that took place when the state took over the district in 2013, are not needed.

“We need to just make sure that we are very wisely and frugally using our expenses,” she said.

Laura Fredrick, communications director of the Education Department, said the department “remains committed to supporting the Camden City School District during this period of transition.”

“We are working closely with [the] district to help maintain a high-quality education for every student,” she said.