>(TRENTON) – Assembly Democrats Joan M. Voss (D-Bergen) and Connie Wagner (D-Bergen) released the following statement on Gov. Christie’s line-item vetoes that will cost 38th Legislative District taxpayers $36.9 million in school aid:
“Under the budget passed by the Legislature, public schools in the 38th district would have received $96 million in school aid to educate our students. Instead, they will have to make do with $59 million because the governor would rather stifle the working class and poor financially, before making the wealthiest pay a bit more,” said Voss. “It’s incredibly unfair to these students, and the taxpayers who will be saddled with making up the difference.”
School districts in the 38th district would have received $96 million in school aid under the budget passed by the Legislature. The school aid allocation would have been funded by the Millionaire’s Tax bill, which imposed a new levy on the 16,000 New Jerseyans that earn $1 million or more per year. The bill passed the Legislature, but was vetoed by the governor.
Instead, school districts in the 38th district saw reductions in their school aid under the governor’s budget, including Lodi, which lost $7.4 million, Fair Lawn, which lost $2.5 million, Bergen County Vocational, which lost $1.7 million and Paramus, which lost $1.3 million.
“I don’t understand how the governor can justify tax breaks for millionaires, while slashing school aid and denying property tax relief for taxpayers in the 38th district,” said Wagner. “School districts like Lodi and Fair Lawn will have million dollar holes to plug and the taxpayers will bear the brunt. Underfunding education is egregious enough, but to do it when there was a viable solution offered and while there is a more than generous surplus is disgraceful.”
See the attached chart for a complete list of the governor’s cuts to the 38th Legislative District.