July 18, 2024-- "Thank you for fighting for our kids, their club[s], their sports, their teachers, their classmates, their classrooms and school community."
"Keep up the fight! You are the best!"
"Best leader for our schools!! We have to keep fighting and taking care of TR Schools!!"
These were just a few comments from an Instagram reel posted by the district last week that featured Superintendent Michael Citta saying, among other things, that what the State of New Jersey has done, relative to Toms River Regional Schools' current and ongoing budget issues, is "nothing short of legislative child abuse and neglect."
Citta's comments came during a July 3 special board meeting, and prefaced those of board attorney William Burns, who announced a lawsuit against the state in response to the district's $26.5-million budget deficit for 2024-2025. A snippet of Burns' announcement was also shared on Facebook and Instagram, and those posts collectively garnered more than 1,000 likes and, literally, nothing but positive feedback.
This reaction is not lost on Citta.
"It's hard for me to put into words how reassuring it is to have the backing of this community," he said. "It's summer, for one thing-- we made the announcement the day before July 4, a four-day weekend-- and what we're announcing is almost certainly a lengthy legal battle that leaves so much up in the air.
"Not to mention," Citta continued, "this community has been behind us in this fight for years. Rallies, town halls, requests to contact legislators, numerous communications, letters, updates. And yet there's no fatigue, no relenting. Only 'Thank you for doing what's best for our kids,' and 'What else can I do, personally?' It's honestly incredible."
It's not only on social media where such reactions have taken place-- although a consistently positive response on social media to such a hot-button issue involving taxes and a lawsuit is, in itself, borderline miraculous-- but on the streets as well.
"Everywhere I go, people are lending words of support and encouragement," Citta said.
It's a difficult situation to navigate, Citta admits, as he wishes he had more reassurances for parents and families throughout greater Toms River. The district, however, doesn't currently have a budget for the school year, as the board voted it down at the July 3 meeting; it's now in the county and state's hands for review. Everything is in a holding pattern, and pending litigation makes things more complicated. It all serves to compromise the stability Citta wishes he could provide as the leader of one of the state's largest districts.
"The truth is that I just don't have answers to a lot of questions right now," Citta said. "That so many people in this community are accepting of that, and continue to urge us to move forward in this budget battle ... it reaffirms for me that we're doing the right thing. It keeps me and us going."
It's not only everyday people and district families who recognize the situation and what's at stake. Legislative district 9 and 10 lawmakers for Ocean County are on Toms River's side. Assembly Paul Kanitra provided powerful testimony on the district's behalf at the July 3 meeting. And last week, New Jersey gubernatorial hopeful Jack Ciattarelli publicly voiced his support of Toms River, calling out the inconsistencies in the state's funding formula.