Recent budget cuts led to a vote of no confidence for Evesham Township School District Superintendent Dr. Justin Smith. NBC10’s Shaira Arias attended a heated school board meeting Monday night.
Parents and teachers in Evesham, New Jersey, overwhelmingly issued a 'no confidence' vote in school superintendent, Justin Smith, on Monday night after officials presented an annual education budget filled with cuts.
Officials said that the cuts were due to decreases in state funding.
Yet, on Monday night, members of the township's educational association announced it had voted 494 to 16 in a "no confidence" vote against Smith.
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"If it ended up with a resignation, then it ended up with a resignation. If it helped him improve himself moving forward, that would be great, as well," said Russel Bowles, president of the Evesham Township Educational Association.
In a statement to NBC10, the association said the vote came after concerns of a lack of transparency from Smith and claims that he failed to involve all stakeholders in the decision making process.
The association said that, because of this, under Smith, there's been a decrease in staff morale, community trust and educational quality.
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In a presentation, school officials said they are grappling about a $7 million reduction in annual state funding contributions and a cumulative $38 million in total reductions in funding.
Bowles said that, in order to deal with these reductions, the district plans to increase class sizes to 35 kids per room, cut 20 middle school teachers, ending after school clubs for elementary students, outsourcing the transportation department among other proposals.
"Teachers will have too many students. They will not get to know our kids. They won't get the support that they have had over the many years," said Erin Sapio, an Evesham School District parent.
During the presentation, Smith said the budget cuts were unfortunate, but were necessary due to state funding reductions.
NBC10 has reached out, but Smith has not yet responded to a request for comment on the "no confidence" vote.
The next meeting of the Evesham School Board is scheduled to be held on May 1, 2025.
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