Vocal lawmaker’s crusade against N.J.’s school-funding formula
By Chris Mondics, Inquirer Trenton Bureau
POSTED: July 14, 2013
TRENTON – Mike Doherty is a firebrand conservative who is on a mission to reform the state’s school tax structure.
The Republican state senator from rural Warren County in northwest New Jersey doesn’t mind at all being politically incorrect.
Nor trading in apocalyptic language.
His primary target, arguably his only target, is the state formula that distributes education aid overwhelmingly to 31 mostly urban school districts. The imbalance favoring these districts over the rest of the state has placed suburban and rural towns in a financial straitjacket, he says. Businesses are fleeing, and many residents are having trouble making ends meet, he says.
“The suburbs are like a hot-air balloon about to crash into high-tension wires,” he said during an interview in his office in Washington Borough, a rural town about 60 miles directly west of New York City. “Everything in New Jersey is about bailing out the urban areas. We are punishing the suburbs. The suburbs are doing a pretty good job dealing with diminishing [economic activity], but that is not going to last for long. There is a tremendous amount of stress in our suburban and rural towns.”
https://articles.philly.com/2013-07-14/news/40571520_1_david-sciarra-districts-education-law-center
The man is 100% correct.
Yes, clearly the system is broken and the teachers union wants to keep it that way!
The governor is not actively discouraging Doherty from pursuing this legislative goal but this only at the price of Doherty agreeing not to pursue the U.S. senate seat to which Menendez was re-elected last year (non-conservative loser Kyrillos was Christie’s choice). I wonder what Doherty will have to give up now to purchase Christie’s continued non-interference/non-support?