Council, board press N.J. for extra tax relief
Jackson officials encourage residents to let state reps know how they feel
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

Members of the Jackson Township Council and the Jackson Board of Education are joining hands to fight for more local funding and tax relief from the state.

Both bodies passed resolutions toward that end at their Feb. 27 meetings. One resolution throws support from the council and the board behind Senate Joint Resolution 57 and Assembly Joint Resolution 129, which urges the governor and the commissioner of education to recommend a new public school funding formula.

Together they are also seeking grant money to facilitate sharing services.

"We want the governor and the people of Jackson to know how seriously we take these issues, Councilman Scott R. Martin said at the Feb. 27 council meeting. "The taxpayers of Jackson deserve a school funding formula that takes into consideration the shortfalls Jackson has received over the past six years."

Gov. Jon S. Corzine recently announced that a new school funding formula will not be in place for the 2007-08 school year, but that a new funding formula is expected to be in place for the 2008-09 school year.

Martin said although the resolutions were adopted by the council and the school board separately, it will show legislators in Trenton that Jackson is united in making sure it gets what residents deserve.

"These are not council issues or board issues, but rather Jackson issues," Council-woman Emily Ingram said. "They affect every single taxpayer in Jackson and we intend to do whatever we can to unite behind this issue and fight for what is fair."

The initiative to receive equitable funding includes urging residents to support a statewide petition drive being spearheaded by District 30 legislators Sen. Robert Singer, Assemblyman Ron Dancer and Assemblyman Joseph Malone, Martin said. The legislators' petition asks Corzine to fully fund public education in New Jersey.

Petitions are available in town hall and will be collected and sent to Trenton at the end of March.

School board President Linda Lackay said the Senate and Assembly joint resolutions go beyond just asking the governor and Legis-lature to create a funding formula that actually funds education, rather than freezing aid year after year.

"The goal is for towns like Jackson to fairly distribute future state aid by considering the aid history for the last six school years and adding what is called transition aid for the next six school years," Lackay said. "We feel this aid, combined with a formula that makes sense, is the way to provide substantial and lasting property tax relief for all of us."

A second resolution passed on Feb. 27 by the school board and the council allows those bodies to jointly contract with Jersey Professional Management to assist in the preparation and submission of an application to the state for a shared services grant.

If a grant is received it would allow for a feasibility study to take place to create the best opportunities for shared services between the two public bodies.

Representatives from the council and the school district have already established several areas where sharing services would be useful and feasible, including the maintenance of athletic fields, information technology services and transportation.

"This is another step toward our being able to find new and useful ways to combine our resources and efforts to be as efficient as possible," Martin said.

Lackay said she believes a grant could be a useful tool in helping to identify other areas for shared efficiency.

"We are pleased to be able to work together like this to find ways to better our community," she said. "This grant could open additional doors to help us do that."

Councilwoman Ann Updegrave thanked Mayor Mark Seda for leading a local petition drive which also addressed school funding issues. She thanked Singer, Malone and Dancer for their attempt to try to convince Corzine to fully fund public education.

"This issue was neglected, ignored and never properly addressed until now," she said.

year after year.

"The goal is for towns like Jackson to fairly distribute future state aid by considering the aid history for the last six school years and adding what is called transition aid for the next six school years," Lackay said. "We feel this aid, combined with a formula that makes sense, is the way to provide substantial and lasting property tax relief for all of us."

A second resolution passed on Feb. 27 by the school board and the council allows those bodies to jointly contract with Jersey Professional Management to assist in the preparation and submission of an application to the state for a shared services grant.

If a grant is received it would allow for a feasibility study to take place to create the best opportunities for shared services between the two public bodies.

Representatives from the council and the school district have already established several areas where sharing services would be useful and feasible, including the maintenance of athletic fields, information technology services and transportation.

"This is another step toward our being able to find new and useful ways to combine our resources and efforts to be as efficient as possible," Martin said.

Lackay said she believes a grant could be a useful tool in helping to identify other areas for shared efficiency.

"We are pleased to be able to work together like this to find ways to better our community," she said. "This grant could open additional doors to help us do that."

Councilwoman Ann Updegrave thanked Mayor Mark Seda for leading a local petition drive which also addressed school funding issues. She thanked Singer, Malone and Dancer for their attempt to try to convince Corzine to fully fund public education.

"This issue was neglected, ignored and never properly addressed until now," she said.