A state audit of Newark Public Schools identified millions of dollars in excess state aid, missed savings and poorly documented spending, Assemblyman Alex Sauickie said, disputing the district’s claim that the 22-month review “found … nothing.”
“Millions in excess aid, millions in missed savings and employees who never passed background checks, and Newark calls that nothing?” said Sauickie, R-Ocean. “If that’s nothing, taxpayers should be terrified of what something looks like.”
According to the audit, Newark overstated enrollment by 128 students in two annual submissions and received $6.65 million in excess state aid. Auditors also estimated the district missed $18.7 million in health insurance savings over two years and found no record of a required insurance review.
Auditors found the district also:
— Spent about $4.7 million more on legal services than the statewide per-student benchmark, without required cost controls.
— Paid $2.5 million upfront on a roughly $4.5 million museum agreement without competitive bidding or required state approval. The project is more than a year overdue with little documented progress.
— Made about $1.3 million in avoidable preschool payments after enrollment fell below contract thresholds.
— Spent $1.14 million on catering, including about $184,000 without adequate documentation. Sixteen of 19 catered board meetings reviewed exceeded the $10-per-person limit.
The audit also questioned $711,943 for “Senior Day” trips with carnival booths, DJs and karaoke, $566,000 for an employee fitness center bought without bidding or board approval, and a $57,065 staff “Fun Day” for which the state has ordered partial repayment. It also found more than $192,000 in health contributions and ineligible claims the district never tried to recover. Ten employees never completed required criminal background checks, and 199 others had outdated clearances.
State aid of about $1.386 billion covers roughly 83% of Newark’s $1.677 billion budget for 2026-27, or about $34,000 per student. The local property tax levy is about $146.8 million.
“Newark apparently has more money than it knows what to do with, at least responsibly,” Sauickie said. “Families elsewhere are being told their children must do with less while Newark is spending millions on an employee gym, a school district museum, catering, entertainment and other expenses. Calling that ‘flying colors’ doesn’t make the findings disappear.”
In April 2025, Sauickie called on the NJ Department of Education for a five year audit of the district’s spending on catering, travel and the museum. Newark called his concerns “baseless and outrageous.”
Sauickie has since obtained more than 6,600 pages of district expenditure records through the Open Public Records Act. An initial review found $156,205.63 in travel spending by 26 employees from 2024 through 2026. That total includes $21,609.39 spent by one assistant superintendent on 13 conference trips to cities including Naples, Dallas, New Orleans, San Diego, Chicago and Nashville.
He wants the full audit released, along with a corrective action plan for each finding. He also called on the state Department of Education to decide how to handle the excess aid, recover money owed and verify that all employees have passed background checks.
“This audit should be sobering,” he said. “Superintendent Roger León can save the throne and the dance moves for his next birthday party. Right now, taxpayers deserve accountability.”
