nearly 29,000 students, is the third largest in New Jersey. With an estimated 28,500 students for the 2021-22 school year, the district projected an operating budget of $527 million, of which $452 million (85.8%) would be from state sources and $60 million (11.4%) from property taxes For 2016, the $507 million budget was mostly subsidized by state aid, which accounted for 82.6% of the district's budget, while property taxes covered 11.6% of the budget. The district's board of education, comprised of nine members, sets policy and oversees the fiscal and educational operation of the district through its administration. As a Type II school district, the board's trustees are elected directly by voters to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with three seats up for election each year held (since 2012) as part of the November general election. The board appoints a superintendent to oversee the district's day-to-day operations and a business administrator to supervise the business functions of the district. The school board has long had a majority led Rafael Fajardo, a former school board president who has had at least six family members on the payroll. Although he is no longer on the panel, Fajardo had controlled the school system with the support of several board members. Controversy In June 2011, the Union County Prosecutor's Office was investigating charges that members of the school board gave jobs and promotions to employees in exchange for political contributions. Republican members of the New Jersey General Assembly asked for records relating to district spending for entertainment, travel, equipment and other expenditures. The Investigations Unit of the New Jersey Department of Education reviewed district practices in 2008, following a state auditor's report that undocumented aliens were being improperly hired by the district in custodial and clerical positions. The district's business administrator indicated that the district had been hiring non-citizens for math and science teaching positions due to the inability to find qualified citizens qualified to work in those positions. Other findings had shown that $88,000 was spent by the district for what was deemed to be political advertising and that employee information had been taken from confidential files to be used for soliciting political contributions. Some other recent headlines include: At least $1.5M paid out secretly by Elizabeth schools, a fraction of workers' settlements; Elizabeth Board of Education used taxpayer money to keep lawsuits hush-hush; Investigation finds Elizabeth school board