ASSEMBLYWOMAN KARROW CALLS FOR DOE COMMISSIONER DAVY'S RESIGNATION

News From The Assembly Democrats

CRYAN CALLS ON ATTORNEY GENERAL TO HALT

'OBSCENE' KEANSBURG SUPERINTENDENT BONUS

Assembly Education Chair Calls on Attorney General

to Take Tough Stance On $750K Retirement Bonus;

Proposes New Law to Cap Retirement Benefits

     (TRENTON) -- Responding to reports that the outgoing superintendent of the Keansburg school district will be rewarded a three-quarters-of-a-million-dollar retirement bonus, Assembly Education Committee chairman Joseph Cryan today called on state Attorney General to immediately freeze the payout and investigate it as a "crime against New Jersey taxpayers."

     The lawmaker noted that since the payout is part of a five-year-old contract, state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy has no power to override the award despite her expressed desire to do so. He called on state Attorney General Anne Milgram to investigate the deal as a crime against the taxpayers of New Jersey.

     "This deal reeks of the insider dealing and disregard for taxpayers that has led residents to hold government in such low esteem," said Cryan (D-Union). "This is an obscene amount for any superintendent, and is especially offensive coming from a district that depends on the state's taxpayers for the bulk of its funding. Not one penny of this payout should be released."

     According to published reports, retiring Keansburg schools chief Barbara Trzeszkowski will be paid a $556,290 retirement bonus calculated by multiplying her current monthly salary by the more than 38 years of service in the district on top of $184,586 for more than 250 unused sick and vacation days. She also will earn an annual pension of roughly $115,600.

     Cryan said he will work to expedite passage of legislation he will introduce to prohibit any post-retirement benefits beyond what would be an acceptable buy-back of unused leave time.

     Under law enacted last year, such payments will be capped at $15,000 each for unused sick and vacation time. However, since Trzeszkowski's contract was in effect prior to the law, she is entitled to reap the entire $184,586.

     Cryan noted that in 2006, Trzeszkowski and several other Keansburg officials used school funds to charter a limousine service to shuttle them to an Assembly Budget Committee hearing in Collingswood where she pleaded for more aid for her district. Trzeszkowski reimbursed the district for the $375 limo service only after the event made news.

     The Assemblyman noted that one of the school board members who approved the contract -- Kimberly Kelaher-Moran -- still sits on the Keansburg Board of Education.

     "The taxpayers of Keansburg and the taxpayers of New Jersey deserve an explanation as to why an elected official who is supposed to look out for the community's best interests would approve such a one-sided deal," said Cryan.

     Under the new school funding formula, Keansburg is to receive $28.9 million -- 81 percent of its budget -- from the state.

     "There is no doubt that Keansburg's schoolchildren need every dollar in the classroom," said Cryan, who has toured the district's ramshackle school buildings and trailers. "For these children, $750,000 could make a world of difference. It is patently obscene that this money will instead find its way into the pocket of one person, instead of Keansburg's sorely deserving classrooms."

News From The Senate Democrats

TURNER CONDEMNS SEVERANCE FOR KEANSBURG SUPERINTENDENT

     TRENTON -- Senator Shirley K. Turner, Chair of the Senate Education Committee, today condemned the severance package of more than $740,000 for the retiring school superintendent in Keansburg, Barbara Trzeszkowski, which was sanctioned by the Abbott District's local school board in 2003.

     "The only good news about this gross abuse of public trust is that it probably can't happen again. These types of secret deals are now required to be posted on school district websites before they're sanctioned, under legislation approved last year. Plus, we've capped sick time payouts at $15,000 for all elected and appointed officials. At least now, executive county school superintendents can step in and block outrageous contracts like this one.

     "The sickening part of this scandal is that Superintendent Trzeszkowski couldn't have maneuvered this deal for herself on her own. She had to have collaborators on the elected Keansburg school board who were willing to sign off on this rip-off. These school board co-conspirators should be smoked out wherever they are today and made to explain their rationale for authorizing this unwarranted raid on taxpayers' money.

     "It's hardly a solace to proclaim this profound arrogance as a thing of the past when the pain will be felt for years into the future. Keansburg residents should remove any school board members who had a hand in sanctioning this spectacular abuse of taxpayers."

     Senator Turner, a Democrat, represents the 15th Legislative District.

KARROW CALLS FOR DOE COMMISSIONER DAVY'S RESIGNATION

Cites Davy's refusal to recover $83 million

in questionable spending in Abbott districts

     Assemblywoman Marcia Karrow today called for the resignation of state Department of Education (DOE) Commissioner Lucille Davy following her decision not to recoup more than $83 million in wasteful and questionable spending uncovered during audits of the state's 31 Abbott School Districts.

     "It is unconscionable that Ms. Davy is not going to require the offending school districts to pay back the monies they willfully wasted," said Karrow, R-Warren and Hunterdon. "If the DOE Commissioner is not going to hold accountable those responsible for this flagrant abuse of taxpayer money, then ultimately, she must be held responsible.

     "Governor Corzine is nickel and dimeing hospitals, efficiently-run municipalities, services to the blind and disabled and threatened to shut state parks in an effort to cut the budget, yet his Administration, specifically, Commissioner Davy, has done nothing to stop the hemorrhaging of taxpayer money in our Abbott districts," added Karrow. "In fact, most of these districts will be rewarded with an increase in state aid. Someone needs to explain that to the Legislature and the New Jersey taxpayer."

     When questioned about the millions of dollars of questionable and wasteful spending revealed by auditors of the state's Abbott districts, Davy told the Senate Education Committee on Thursday her office has no intention of recovering the misused funds. According to a report in Friday's Asbury Park Press, Davy also said DOE will not withhold funds from districts identified in the audits of inefficiencies and suspect spending.

     The audits, the newspaper reported, cited excessive travel fees and expenses, undocumented overtime, inappropriate cell phone expenditures, expensive legal fees, decor for school functions, teacher parties and food for a number of functions.

     "New Jersey's families are fed up with report after report of having their hard-earned tax dollars misused and abused," she continued. "What good is an audit if we only expose the waste, but do nothing to recover the wasted money? It's not acceptable to sweep this under the carpet as was done with the School Construction Corporation multi-billion dollar debacle."

     Karrow, noting that Davy sat on the audit results of 27 of the districts for some time without reporting on the waste, added that state aid to non-Abbott districts has been decimated during Davy's reign as DOE commissioner and chief education policy advisor to former Governor Jim McGreevey. She also said Davy is responsible for the new inequitable school funding formula Governor Corzine and Democrats rammed through the lame duck session of the Legislature in January.

     "For years, under Ms. Davy's tenure, the state's suburban and rural school districts were flat-funded -- sacrificed at the expense of a handful of Abbott districts," stated Karrow. "And what do we have to show for it? Certainly not improved test scores for our students, but we do have outrageous property tax rates. And our new school funding formula is as inequitable as the previous one.

     "The DOE, and Ms. Davy's as its head, is charged annually with overseeing a multi-billion dollar budget funded by the hard working and grossly overtaxed people of this state," she continued. "Therefore, I am calling for her resignation for failure to properly and efficiently govern the affairs of her department."