Support school choice and keep tax dollars
For some time I have watched the weekly (NJEA) Report on Education editorials come and go, but this one struck a nerve, and as a taxpayer and the president of the New Jersey Taxpayers Association, I must respond.

While I have nothing but respect for hard-working educators who have the same obligations as everyone else, for New Jersey Education Association President Joyce Powell to come out publicly against the proposal to establish a scholarship program for disadvantaged students in this state is outrageous and disingenuous.

While I understand the obvious concerns revolving around the union vs. non-union option, for the leader of a 201,000-member professional organization to suggest denying underprivileged students and their families the possibility of a better education via school choice, in my humble opinion, borders on the unethical.

In the world of education, how can anyone justify not supporting a program based on a proven (private school) record of success, just because it is outside the "public school" venue? And to argue that the proposed initiative raids the state treasury is simply an outright lie.

For the record, as I understand the proposal, the amount of state fiscal support ($360 million) via corporate scholarship donations tax credits, contrasts $6,000/pupil scholarship costs against the $18,000/student to $25,000/student in the public school settings. Let's face it, even if the academic results were the same, the savings to New Jersey taxpayers is $720 million to $1.08 billion over the life of the pilot project vs. forcing those same students into the public school system.

Taken from a different perspective, when has legitimate competition been a dirty word in our society? Wherever we look, competition has created virtually all the good things in our lives. Would anyone still want to have a single telephone monopoly? How about three choices of automobile manufacturers or the single corner grocery?

Yet, the president of, arguably, the most powerful union in New Jersey representing the teachers across the state feels comfortable and confident arguing that we should blindly support a political position that I would argue is beyond the pale in hypocrisy and has nothing to do with improving the education for our children, but everything to do with the narrow-minded protection of one's own personal agenda and interests. From the taxpayers' standpoint, we can no longer support the failing educational spending policies in this state.

Enough is enough! Let those parents and students targeted by this political rhetoric and manipulation have a voice in where they would like to receive their state-mandated education. Then let the results speak for themselves. I will personally commit, now, to actively support the outcome results.

According to a Wall Street Journal editorial (May 19, 2008) "Democrats for School Choice," Florida's state Legislature passed their 7-year-old Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program for underprivileged students "with the help of a full third of Democrats in the Legislature, including 13 of 25 members of the state's black caucus and every member of the Hispanic caucus."

What's encouraging is that these parents have managed to convey their pro-choice sentiments to their representatives, who are responding even though voucher programs infuriate the powerful.

Here in New Jersey we spend more tax dollars on public education than any other state nationwide, while our outcomes fall into the middle of the pack - contrary, again, to what the NJEA leadership would have us believe. In fact, according to The Nation's Report Card, as recently as 2005 New Jersey ranked 19th for fourth-grade reading, eighth for fourth-grade math, 14th for eighth-grade math and 26th for low-income fourth-grade reading. Hardly the top-notch outcomes we hear touted locally.

Given the tumult of the nation's economic crisis, coupled with the constant statewide special interests' mantra of "Just give us more money and everything's fine," it's time for change. Support the school choice initiative and keep our tax dollars in our own pockets where they belong.
Jerry Cantrell
President
N.J. Taxpayers Association
Denville