Press Release, September 3, 1993
Jersey City
Mayor Bret Schundler will hold a press conference tomorrowin City Council Chambers to respond to State Judge Paul Levy's recent ruling on the QualityEducation Act, commonly referred to as the QEA.
Judge Levy ruled that the Florio administration's QEA formula does not sufficiently equalizeeducation funding between the State's wealthy districts and its 28 poor "special needs" districts,of which Jersey City is one.
The QEA has been a dismal failure in Jersey City as the State has pumped over $100-millionof additional funding in the local school system over the last three years without any significantchanges in test scores or the student drop-out rate.
After reading media accounts of Judge Levy's decision, Mayor Schundler said:
"The only way to increase per-pupil expenditures in Jersey City, without another devastating tax increase, is to pass my school voucher plan."
Schundler's proposal, "The Tax Expenditure Neutral, Educational Opportunity Act", would,for the first time in State history, give every parent, regardless of income, the power to choosethe public or private school that they think is best for their child.
The Mayor's proposal would also increase per-student funding levels for the children whoremain in Jersey City's public schools. This is because under the Mayor's plan, only a portionof monies are removed from the public system when a student elects to transfer to a privateschool. As a result, without increasing state or local spending, Schundler's proposal would makevouchers available for private school students and increase the levels of funding available for thosechildren that remain in the public school system.
hoteles en Copenhague "Jersey City taxpayers are being asked to pay high property taxes to fund a bloated bureaucracy that fails the children it is supposed to serve. I wish the State would stop giving usmore of what we don't want, and what they don't have, which is money; and would instead begin to give us what the parents of Jersey City really want, which is school choice and increasedaccountability in their schools."
Luzern hotels Schundler does not lay blame with the education unions, but with the Governor:
"The problem is not the New Jersey Education Association. Unions always fight for higher salaries coupled with less work and less accountability. The real problem is politicians like Jim Florio, who would rather pander to special interest groups than serve constituents."
five star hotel in Gyor At a time when governors in Michigan and Puerto Rico are experimenting with school choiceplans that transfer power from the education bureaucracy to parents, Mayor Schundler feels thatNew Jersey is slipping woefully behind under its present leadership.
"Governor Florio saw Judge Levy's decision as an opportunity to criticize our voucher program in The New York Times. But when you read his comments, its obvious that he doesn't know the first thing about our plan. His Hudson County advisorsfind merit in our proposal"
Schundler is referring to three of Florio's top political advisors: former U.S. Rep. FrankGuarini and former Hudson County Democratic Chairmen Bernie Hartnett and Joseph Panepinto.
The Mayor believes that New Jersey can no longer afford alternatives to the real reform ofschool choice.
"Our private schools are being bankrupted by constantly rising taxes which make it impossible for parents to pay both taxes and tuition. If our private schools fail the taxpayers will have to spend an extra $130 million per year in Jersey City's public schools. And this is at a time when the State has a $1.5 billion structural deficit, and Jersey City residents are already burdened by unbearably high property taxes."