Executive Director

Lynne Strickland, Executive Director
Garden State Coalition of Schools

As Executive Director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools, Lynne represents 100 New Jersey school districts and their communities. GSCS is a statewide, grassroots volunteer association, primarily suburban.

·         Member districts range from Cherry Hill in Camden County to Woodcliff Lake in Bergen County.

·         Volunteer members are a unique combination of parents, board of education members, and school administrators.

·         About 300,000 children are represented by GSCS through their school districts’ volunteer membership in the coalition.

The Garden State’s mission is high quality education for all children; its focus is equity and excellence, with a persevering eye on school finance. The coalition has a 18 year track record as a leading advocate for public support of public education for all children New Jersey. Recognized as a force at the state level, GSCS, is seen as a valuable resource for information and innovative thinking for New Jersey leadership

Lynne is and has been the sole full time staff to GSCS since its inception over ten years ago with 27 founding member districts. As spokesperson for GSCS Lynne leads public awareness campaigns and seeks to educate members, the public at large and the Statehouse in Trenton on school finance issues. Lynne has established a Trenton advocacy office and is recognized for her state level data and school finance analyses.