School District Says It Passed Audit With ‘Flying Colors.’ The Actual Report Tells A Different Story
A New Jersey school district spent taxpayer money on an unfinished museum and a little-used employee gym, according to a state audit that also referred unspecified matters to criminal justice officials.
A New Jersey school district spent taxpayer money on an unfinished museum and a little-used employee gym, according to a state audit that also referred unspecified matters to criminal justice officials.
Newark Public Schools spent approximately $566,000 constructing, equipping and operating a gym inside its administrative headquarters, where an average of just seven employees used the facility daily during a roughly three-month review in 2025, according to an October 1 audit. The spending occurred as the district continued arguing it was chronically underfunded and seeking additional state aid, including a proposed $60.6 million increase in its 2026 budget.
In an Oct. 1 statement titled “Newark Public Schools Comes Through State Audit with Flying Colors,” the district declared that state auditors had “completed their review and found … nothing.”
The findings land as state lawmakers debate how billions in Education funding is distributed across New Jersey.
State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, the Senate’s top Republican budget officer, called the findings “outrageous and distressing, but not at all surprising,” according to Gothamist.
The gym was just one of several expenditures the New Jersey Office of the State Auditor examined. The probe looked at district finances between July 2022 and May 2026. Auditors found the facility was constructed without formal school board approval and that the district circumvented competitive bidding requirements. Newark also approved a $280,440 management contract that included a full-time trainer.