Essay on "Alternative Source for Tax Dollars for My School District"

Essay 4 pages (1266 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Alternative Source for Tax Dollars

Over the last several years, the New Jersey school system has been facing tremendous challenges associated with shortfalls in funding. At the heart of these issues, is the fact that many districts do not receive the resources they need from decreases in property taxes. This is hurting the ability of schools to address a host of critical challenges in the process. To fully understand what is taking place requires examining the need for equalization in funding programs, the impact of district power equalization and the characteristics of a fair / equitable school system. Together, these different elements will highlight the overall scope of the problems and how they can be addressed over the long-term. (Goodspeed, n.d.)

The need for equalization of local, county, and state funding systems.

The current state of the New Jersey school system is that wealthier districts will receive greater amounts of funding in contrast with other areas. This is because the wealthier communities will have higher levels of assessed property values. When the mill levy is determined, this will lead directly to greater amounts of revenues collected by government officials. This money is sent to these schools, in order to provide students with better quality of education in comparison with other areas. (Goodspeed, n.d.)

At the same time, Governor Christie has imposed strict budgetary cuts at the state level to all school districts. This means that many areas which are in poorer neighborhoods will not receive the kind of support they need. In 2011, this resulted directly in decreases in to these areas of up to 100%. To make matters worse, the state has imposed a cap on property taxes of 2.5%. This is leading to a loss in tax revenues for these school districts. For the poor and inner city institutions, this can have a devastating effect on their ability to raise money for some of the most essential programs. This is because there are fewer property owners in these areas. (Crawford, 2010) (Goodspeed, n.d.)

Moreover, they have lower values assessed on what they owe to government officials. These factors can lead directly to decreasing levels of funding for schools inside these communities. The problem is becoming worse from the dramatic cut backs in state funding and the cap on raising the mill levy beyond 2.5% a year. This is creating a situation, where these districts do not have the funding they need to provide students with a quality education. (Crawford, 2010)

As a result, there needs to be an equal contribution of support from all levels of government. This will ensure that every school receives the resources it needs to deal with critical challenges. When this happens, many inner city and poorer school districts can maintain high levels of quality without having to make drastic cuts to a host of programs. This is the key for ensuring that everyone can deal with the current financial challenges by responsibly dividing areas of support among different segments.

The impact of district power equalization.

The long-term effects of district power equalization are that students and school districts will have greater access to the resources they need. This means that there must be a change in the formula that is utilized to determine what amount each entity should contribute to public education. Moreover, many of the wealthier school districts must share some of the money they receive from the mill levy with the poorer school districts in the form of a pool. This will ensure that everyone has the equal access to the resources they need in order to achieve critical objectives in the process. When this happens, there will be more stability in the funding resources that are provided. This allows the poorer schools to avoid facing 100% decreases in these areas from select sources.… READ MORE

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