Letter to the Editor: Scotch Plains Fanwood Tea Party

To the Editor:

On December 6, the Scotch Plains Fanwood Tea Party hosted an Americans for Prosperity seminar entitled: Courts Gone Wild.  Guest speaker, Steve Lonegan, presented numerous examples of the New Jersey Supreme Court exceeding its authority by legislating from the bench.  This has become a serious issue for New Jersey, especially .  The courts have exceeded their authority by deciding how education should be funded in our state; a role that legitimately belongs to our elected representatives.

Supreme Court decisions have forced many towns to raise property taxes to the point where many of our citizens are leaving the state for lower cost alternatives. This hurts our economy.  But there is hope.

Senator Mike Doherty, another guest speaker at the seminar, presented his Fair School Funding Plan.  This plan would provide tax relief for many New Jersey citizens. Senator Doherty's plan calls for the state to provide an equal amount of school aid for every student in New Jersey, regardless of where they reside. It is only fair to treat every student equally and Senator Doherty's plan is consistent with Article VIII, Section IV, Paragraph 2 of the New Jersey State Constitution.

Currently, because of the difference in income levels, taxpayers in Scotch Plains and Fanwood (SPF) send much more income tax revenue to Trenton ($51.9mill.) than say, Asbury Park (AP) residents ($3.9mill.).  That works out to five times more per person: $1,686 vs $326.  If the state took all the income taxes earmarked for school aid and divided it equally per student, each would receive $7,841.  Because of state supreme court rulings, however, the AP school district receives $24,885 per student compared to $400 per student for the SPF district.  While our citizens pay five times the taxes, our children get the short end of the stick by a factor of 62 to 1! 

Not only are our income taxes being sent out of our district to give other peoples' children expensive educations, but we must pay higher property taxes to make up for that lost funding, driving many of our residents out of the state.  It is estimated that equal school funding would result in SPF receiving over $38 mill. more in state aid.  Imagine what that would mean for reducing property taxes and managing the municipal budget!  

We believe all students should be treated equally and should receive the same amount of state aid.  To make this a reality, we all need to work together.  To learn more about what you can do, visit Senator Doherty's Fair School Funding Plan website athttp://fairschoolfunding.com/.  You'll find a lot more information, including examples of resolutions supporting the Fair School Funding Plan already passed by many New Jersey municipalities.  We hope Scotch Plains and other communities will join the list.  Let your town council representatives know that you want them to support such a resolution.  Remember, together we can make a difference!  For more information about the SPF Tea Party visit us at http://spf-teaparty.org/Home.

-The Scotch Plains Fanwood Tea Party