An audit that questions how millions of dollars were spent in Newark’s public schools — and resulted in a referral to state prosecutors — is giving Republicans fresh talking points as they push for changes to how the state distributes funding to school districts.
The audit, released last week, lands as New Jersey leaders are beginning a new effort to reform the state’s long-debated school aid formula — which Republican lawmakers have for years argued props up urban schools at the expense of suburban and rural districts. Newark Public Schools have been a particular target of their criticism, both as New Jersey’s largest district and the recipient of far more aid than any other school system in the state.
New Jersey’s Office of the State Auditor examined the Newark district’s finances for a four-year period that ended this spring, looking at the district’s accounting whether spending outside of payroll was reasonable. The auditors wrote that they referred “certain matters” to the state’s Division of Criminal Justice — raising the specter of a possible criminal investigation — but provided no further detail about those referrals. The state attorney general’s office, which houses that division, did not respond to a request for comment…