By Assemblyman Alex Sauickie

It’s widely known that New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the country. It’s also well known in Jackson that our public school district suffers state funding cuts due to a faulty aid formula, while at the same time costs continue to increase due to inflation and other factors.

This puts Jackson property tax payers and our schools in a bind. Residents have to pay more to cover some of the state cuts, while schools have to lay off staff and delay necessary physical improvements.

On top of this, Jackson has seen an enormous increase in the number of nonpublic (private or religious) school students whose school transportation costs must be paid – under a state mandate – by the public school district and its taxpayers. This state mandate has been ruining good school districts and, in some cases, bankrupting them.

Jackson school superintendent Nicole Pormilli reports that the district’s budget for this manda- tory spending has increased from $1.3 million to $4.5 million in just one year, a whopping 246% hike. Staying on this track would quickly lead to a fiscal disaster, with taxpayers getting the bill.

So how do we prevent any further damage to our public schools and students, and protect local taxpayers?

Having served on the Jackson Township Council, I’m familiar with these issues and have pressed for the state to pay for things it requires local governments and school districts to do. From my private sector job, I know the value of innovation.

That’s why I’ve introduced a bill in the state Assembly to help Jackson, as well as other school districts in the area that have experienced similar problems, or soon will. This proposal would create a pilot program to test a new way to handle funding and providing transportation for nonpublic school students.

The bill (A4461) would allow certain nonpublic schools to take over from the public school dis- tricts the responsibility to pay for their students’ school transportation. The districts where the students live would pay to the nonpublic schools the amount they would have paid for the trans- portation costs, but with a twist.

Importantly, the state would cover the cost to the public school districts for these payments. Therefore, this state mandate would be paid for by the state itself, not the school districts and their property tax payers. My proposal would thus put into practice a principle I advocated before I joined the State Assembly.

The nonpublic schools would use the money to pay for transportation secured through a bidding process. The state would supervise the program, and the nonpublic schools would have to undergo an independent audit of the program every year.

After the second year of the three-year pilot program, the state Commissioner of Education would report to the Governor and Legislature on the program and whether it should be continued and expanded statewide.

The bill would help not only Jackson, but also Howell, Lakewood, Toms River Regional, Brick and Manchester school districts and taxpayers. It has the support of the school superintendents and boards of education for Jackson, Brick, Toms River and Manchester.

The proposal isn’t meant to be a complete solution, but rather to try out a new model and learn from the experience. More will need to be done, but an innovative program with oversight, auditing and evaluation that’s supported by school boards and superintendents is a great start.

Alex Sauickie is a lifelong Jackson resident who graduated from Jackson schools and is the father of Jackson school students. He represents his home town and 13 other towns in the State Assembly.

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Note: This opinion piece originally appeared in The Jackson Times by Jersey Shore Online in its publication dated January 14, 2023.