New Jersey’s outdated school funding formula, a trickling teacher pipeline and immigration enforcement — these are among the most pressing issues for New Jersey’s incoming education chief.
Lily Laux, Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s pick for commissioner for K-12 public schools, said she’s prepared to take on those challenges. Laux won bipartisan clearance in a Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing last week and is expected to be confirmed this week by the Senate.
“We know that students still haven’t recovered from COVID,” Laux told lawmakers on Feb. 19. “We know that our teacher pipeline is collapsing and we still have too many third-graders in the state who can’t read on grade level.”
She’s prepared to “act urgently,” she said, because “when students are falling behind, every single day matters.”
More teachers
If confirmed Laux will step into the role as districts increasingly are facing budget shortfalls and lawmakers are grappling with an outdated school funding formula. That’s in addition to other longstanding issues, such as teacher recruitment and retention.
As much as 18% of public school teachers have additional employment to increase their income, according to a 2025 study by Rutgers University’s John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. Over 10 years, the state lost 9% of math and science teachers. In 2016-17, the state issued 20,584 provisional teaching certificates; in 2023-24, the total was less than half.
“When you are in person all day with kids, that is a very demanding job,” said Laux, who began her career as a middle school reading teacher in Memphis. “And if you have to go home and grade papers, and then also write lessons, your working conditions and your work-life balance are very challenging.”
To boost teacher candidates, Sherrill’s transition team recommended streamlining the certification requirements and expanding apprenticeships. The state also could offer tuition assistance, scholarships and student loan forgiveness.
“The teacher recruitment problem is related to all parts of the pipeline,” Laux told the Senate committee.
Laux has a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, a master’s in instructional and curriculum leadership from the University of Memphis and a doctorate in American studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
As the deputy commissioner for Texas public schools for seven years, Laux helped lead school finance reform that affected 5.5 million students in more than 1,200 districts.
New Jersey, by comparison, has 1.3 million enrollees in almost 600 K-12 districts. More than one-third of those schools have fewer than 500 students, and their buildings are only 25-30% full, according to Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth), chairman of the Senate Education Committee. The trend is for declining enrollment, he said.
“I think that looks like shared services in some situations,” Laux said. “I think it looks like inter-district agreements in other places, and it could look like consolidation as well.”
‘A big deal’
The commissioner’s duties include weighing in on legislative initiatives, recommending rules and regulation updates to the state Board of Education and serving as a liaison between local school systems and the federal government.
Laux said she looked forward to shaping potential changes to the School Funding Reform Act, rooted in 2008 legislation. Only recently, under former Gov. Phil Murphy, has the state made good on its full aid obligation to local districts, budgeting $22.7 billion for the current year. Still, scores of districts have cut programs and staff.
“New Jersey was at the forefront of how you get school funding to follow the student. This is a big deal,” Laux said. “The fact that it’s not quite working, it hasn’t been updated in some time and it is a point of need for all of us to sit down and discuss — I think it’s an exciting opportunity.”
For upcoming legislative hearings on Sherrill’s Fiscal 2027 budget proposal, Laux had other areas in mind as well.
“Transportation, special education and health benefits for employees are what we’re hearing, and those are places we need to look at driving down real costs,” Laux said.
ICE protections
For the first time in state history, Education Committee members questioned a nominee about New Jersey school district policy in the face of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement. In Lindenwold, a Camden County borough, video shot on Feb. 12 shows children running in fear from their morning school bus as they spot federal agents surrounding an apartment complex.
Laux said she would consult with the state Attorney General’s Office on school district guidance for enforcement scenarios.
“We want to make sure that our students feel safe and welcome at school, and we want to continue to do everything we can to make sure that’s real,” Laux said.
