Fair Lawn News

Matt Ahearn	Bob Gordon	Ed Trawinski

It is a crying shame that over the past two decades the property tax issue has been at the forefront of every political campaign advertising blitz, yet neither the Republican leadership in the past decade nor the Democrat leadership this term have had the courage to put property tax reform on the table, debate the option, propose a solution, and put it to a vote. I provided a plan to leadership of both parties to keep the legislature for a special "summer school" session this summer (rather than starting an early campaign season) to review and consider the results of numerous bi-partisan commission studies completed and never considered over the past 20 years. There are only ten or so options to change the way we tax and fund schools to consider, blend and move forward on. It is time the other members of the Legislature start making policy for the people and their future and stop worrying about their respective political party gaining or losing control of the legislature. It is time to end the paralysis of the two major party's leadership and demand property tax reform now!	I have always believed that education is one of the most important functions of state and local government. The future of our democracy and our ability to compete economically in an increasingly competitive world depend on the quality of our schools. The skill of our labor force is key in maintaining the state’s position as a leader in high technology industries. Working for educational excellence will always be one of my highest priorities. New Jersey now spends more on education than any other state, about $10,800 per pupil at the K-12 level. Most of the money comes from property taxes, which helps to explain why New Jersey residents pay the highest property taxes in the nation. Rising property taxes are pushing many New Jersey residents to the edge, especially seniors and others living on fixed incomes. The problem became particularly acute this year because of the state budget crisis. Facing a 14 billion dollar budget deficit left by the Whitman administration, which doubled spending and tripled the state debt, Governor McGreevey has balanced the budget without raising income or sales taxes. The same cannot be said for the governors in surrounding states. While more than half of McGreevey’s budget is devoted to property tax relief, the budget emergency has meant that Fair Lawn and many towns saw little or no increase in state aid this year to defray rising costs. If elected, my task, and that of every legislator, is to find a way to maintain educational excellence, while reducing the burden on taxpayers. Much has been written about changing the way we pay for schools, but such reforms are not likely to provide immediate relief. I would support steps that I believe would reduce the tax burden in the short-term, without cutting resources devoted to the classroom. One thing we can do is to insist that any programs mandated by the state be paid for by the state. Many of the requirements imposed by the state add substantial costs to school budgets. Such mandates should be fully funded by Trenton. We also need to create incentives for school districts to cut costs by sharing resources. With hundreds of school districts in the state, the various jurisdictions can economize by sharing resources devoted to transportation, utilities, equipment, supplies and other overhead items. By cutting these costs, we can focus resources on the classroom. The programs that provided incentives for such cost sharing should be restored and expanded.	There is no question that the State of New Jersey is providing Fair Lawn schools and virtually every school in Bergen County with less money to help educate each student at the same time expecting our schools to do more. I would certainly do all that I could as an Assemblyman to make sure that the concept of "State mandate State pay" applies to new State requirements with respect to schools thus, alleviating any future burden from new State requirements. However, the problem raised by the question is more complex. In responding it is important to recall that under the New Jersey Constitution each child is guaranteed a "thorough and efficient" education. In defining the constitutional mandate, the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1968 in Robinson v. Cahill decided that funding of public school education through local property taxes is unconstitutional. In my opinion, our leaders on both sides of the aisle and even some of the leaders in the education community, have not implemented the constitutional mandate; thereby, in effect, failing both the school children of the State of New Jersey and property taxpayers. It appears to me that the political will does not exist to find a means (other than property taxes) to fund public school education in New Jersey. Therefore, I strongly support a Constitutional Convention to resolve the methodology of paying for public school education in New Jersey. I would encourage the Constitutional Convention to start with and update the Cahill Commission Report published over 30 years ago and which dealt with this very issue of funding public school education in a constitutional manner in New Jersey. I do find it somewhat ironic that Governor McGreevey ran on a platform of being a strong education governor; and yet he has done nothing to increase State aid to public schools in New Jersey. It is unfair for Bergen County residents and workers who provide approximately 21% of the State's economy to receives less State aid for education than the cities of Newark and Camden. Certainly there is a need to assist the cities and urban areas. I believe that the scale has tipped too far out of balance. As a legislator representing the people of Central Bergen in Legislative District 38, I would work to shift the balance back to a more equitable one.