(TRENTON) – Assembly Budget Chairman Gary Schaer (D-Bergen/Passaic) issued the following statement concerning the total elimination of funding for nonpublic school safety in the governor’s proposed budget, and the potential repercussions during Monday’s Assembly Budget Committee hearing:
“We have a responsibility to keep all children safe, regardless of what school they attend.
“There has been a substantial increase this year in threats and suspicious activity reported at religious institutions, amid an increasing climate of hate and intolerance.
“Students, parents and teachers should not have to accept increased risks simply because they attend or work in nonpublic schools. Parents should not have to worry about their children’s schools being targeted by terrorists because they attend a parochial school.
“Eliminating funding to help keep our nonpublic schools students safe is near-sighted and potentially dangerous.
“The budget should reflect our priorities.
“As it stands, the governor’s proposal simply does not.”