Dear Mayor:

In a letter to the Members of the Joint Legislative Committee on Public School Funding Reform, the League saluted the members of the Committee for their willingness to tackle the biggest part of New Jersey's biggest problem. And we stand ready to assist you in any way that we can. (CLICK HERE FOR A COPY OF THE LETTER)

In 2005, school district taxes, at almost $11 billion, equaled over 55% of the total property tax levy. In the State's 2006 Fiscal Year, at $9.4 billion, those districts received 67% of the State's total property tax relief appropriation. Obviously any effort to address the property tax crisis has to involve school finance reform.

In April of this year, almost half of the 549 school budgets voted on statewide were defeated. Just 53.4 percent passed, compared with 70.7 percent last year. It was the lowest passing rate since 1994, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association. In addition, only 28 of 78 separate funding questions passed.

"As you proceed," we wrote, "we ask you to keep an open mind on how best to address the issue of school finance reform. We urge you to remember that property taxes are unfair and inequitable. They are not based on the ability to pay and fall heaviest on those living on fixed incomes. In our State, those with the least shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden. Households with incomes in the lowest 20 % pay 9.2% of their earnings in property taxes, while the wealthiest 20 % pay 3.6% of their income through this assessment.

"No matter how much you think government should spend; no matter where you think money is needed or money is wasted; no matter what the appropriate level of revenue we need to meet our responsibilities to the people who elected us, the simple fact of the matter is that there has to be a fairer way of raising it. THAT is the crying need of the property taxpayers of our State."

We also expressed our support for A-53, which would move the election of school board members to November, in order to increase citizen participation.