To: Governor Phil Murphy
Chris Christie: One buck isn't enough for our schools
After years of education cuts, every school district in the state should see meaningful relief. It’s time to start finally following the law and restore funding to our schools this year.
Why is this important?
In his budget address Governor Christie boasted about restoring some of the $3.6 billion he's cut from our schools. In fact, he said 370 school districts are getting relief this year.
But here's the catch: Seventy of those school districts received less than $1,000. Forty of them received just $1.
Of all the cuts Christie has made to vital services and investments over the years, his cuts to schools have probably had the widest impact. Kids felt it when their class sizes increased and when they lost music and language classes or sports teams. Parents felt it through increased fees for extracurriculars or busing. And we’ve all felt it through higher property taxes that state aid is intended to relieve.
Christie wants to take credit for an aid increase because it's an election year and he knows that people are still hurting from his past cuts. Let’s let him know that we still have his number – and that if he wants to prove he’s a friend to our public schools, he’ll have to do better than chump change.
But here's the catch: Seventy of those school districts received less than $1,000. Forty of them received just $1.
Of all the cuts Christie has made to vital services and investments over the years, his cuts to schools have probably had the widest impact. Kids felt it when their class sizes increased and when they lost music and language classes or sports teams. Parents felt it through increased fees for extracurriculars or busing. And we’ve all felt it through higher property taxes that state aid is intended to relieve.
Christie wants to take credit for an aid increase because it's an election year and he knows that people are still hurting from his past cuts. Let’s let him know that we still have his number – and that if he wants to prove he’s a friend to our public schools, he’ll have to do better than chump change.