As any property taxpayer in New Jersey is well aware, the school budget comprises more than 60 percent of the typical tax bill. No matter how hard a municipality or county may try to control spending, public education always remains a big cost driver.
To that end, I am stunned that some members of the state legislature are now trying to turn public school buildings into child care centers for babies as young as 6 weeks old.
The mission of schools, funded by taxpayers, is to provide a “thorough and efficient” education. Nowhere is there a mandate that schools must also engage inside businesses that hike taxes and take work from another industry that is handling childcare perfectly fine.
This legislation (A. 5066, S. 3330) accomplishes just one thing: raising my taxes. Any logical person would assume the “unused” space in public schools targeted for child care centers would need major renovation to accommodate babies. New Jersey taxpayers do not have the extra millions of dollars each district will require for all this new construction, and address age-old issues like asbestos and lead.
I ask that Assemblywoman Gabriela Mosquera, who represents Gloucester Township, allow public schools to focus on educating students, as taxpayers intended. We can’t afford anything else.
Jason Walters
