Posted on 03/29/2010 12:14:29 PM PDT by mikelets456
Even worse is the fact that EVERYONE in NJ must have a share of their property taxes diverted to urban school districts (Newark, Camden, Elizabeth, etc), where expenditure per pupil is in the FIVE FIGURES, yet such districts still have the lowest graduation rates in the states. This tax on suburbanites is essentially in place because 1. the alternative would be to bus kids from urban areas to suburban areas, per the state courts decisions, 2. It allows for urban yutes to be babysat, instead of running around causing mayhem and 3. these urban districts provide jobs to administrators and NJEA employees.
Based on what the idiot Union Head is saying, it looks like you are right.
But they picked the WRONG target to bully THIS TIME.
With the amount of money folks in Millburn or Chatham pay in property taxes, they might as well send little Heather or Jason to private school. The way districts are drawn on NJ or Lawn Guyland, however, you have what are essentially de facto private schools (ie schools that only pick from within their districts, and are funded by high property taxes). In other parts of the country where schools are run at the county level, you do not have this issue.
The objections I’m hearing from students in my town are that young, bright, capable teachers without tenure are being laid off, while tenured teachers who look at eBay during class are being kept on.
Around here, they threaten to cut bussing and shortening either the school day or school week (for maximum inconvenience of the parents).
When I was a kid, I don’t remember having fundraisers every other week. I don’t remember having to buy “communal” school supplies. I don’t remember “every other day” kindergarten. Something is very broken in the public schools, even out here in Nowhereland, Minnesota.
Money isn’t going to where it should so. Instead of hiring cultural liaisons and the like, governors should hire SQUADS of accountants to examine the numbers and find out why the school system is amazingly inefficient with the money they receive.
APf
The frightening part was that no one missed that 12million. And this wasn't NYC with 1000 bldgs, but Roslyn with 2 elementary schools, one JHS and one HS.The community reaction was how much more SAT prep and AP class could have been had for that 12 million. No one publicly expressed any sentiment about whether the district simply had too much money.
Actually not sure how far the brinksmanship can go, quite possible Christie will be impeached if he doesn't back down by June.
Dead serious about this, he won't have any viable constituency with an organized lobbying and PR infrastructure in his corner, outside of the skeleton of the NJ Manufacturers association and some Chambers of Commerce. But even those groups have kids who will get hit hard by these cuts.
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