TRENTON, N.J. – Assemblyman Alex Sauickie urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject Kevin Dehmer’s confirmation as Commissioner of the Department of Education Thursday, citing his failures in managing financial crises that have led to school closures and systemic failures across multiple districts.

He highlighted the Lakewood School District, where a judge ordered the DOE to fix a decade-long financial crisis. Instead, Dehmer issued a report blaming the district.

“That wasn’t the assignment from the judge,” Sauickie (R-Ocean) said. “The blatant disregard to following the judge’s order, or just the inability to do the job, is yet another reason why this acting commissioner should not be confirmed.”

He noted that Lakewood was forced to take out another $65 million loan this week, pushing its total debt to nearly $250 million.

Sauickie also condemned severe funding cuts to the Jackson School District, which has lost more than half of its state aid since 2018.

“Last year they closed and sold one of their elementary schools,” he said. “At the school board meeting last night, they voted to close a second school—this time a middle school—and consolidate their two high schools into one.”

He dismissed claims that enrollment declines justified the cuts, noting that while student numbers dropped from about 8,300 to 7,500 over seven years, the last three years have remained mostly stable. Meanwhile, multilingual learners have increased by 300%, and special needs students by over 200%, further straining resources.

“So to cite that as the reason, as the acting commissioner often does, is inaccurate,” said Sauickie.

He also accused the DOE of misleading the public about Jackson’s budget. The state monitor missed a deadline to approve the budget but then blamed the volunteer school board in a press release. When Sauickie questioned the monitor, she admitted the mistake. Yet, “that very night, Governor Murphy went on News 12 and repeated the same lie,” he said.

Sauickie and Assemblyman Rob Clifton have previously called for Dehmer’s resignation. He closed his testimony by reaffirming that demand.  However, given his role in misleading the public, Sauickie argued that Dehmer should not just be denied confirmation but removed from office entirely.