JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) – Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli on Wednesday called for the funding formula for New Jersey schools to be called "nefarious," arguing that it would lead to sky-high property taxes in the state.
But Ciattarelli, a former state assembly member and small business owner, didn't say exactly how he would change the school funding formula approved by the state's Supreme Court and adopted by Democratic Governor Phil Murphy.
Ciattarelli spoke in Jersey City in the foreground of a mirrored skyscraper that houses high-priced condominiums with low property tax rates.
“We need a new school funding formula. The current formula is disgraceful. It's arbitrary. It's unfair and I think it's unconstitutional, "he said.
State property taxes are collected at the local level and are used to support local government and schools, but New Jersey also dedicates any money collected from state income tax to what is known as a property tax cut fund – an account the state uses school districts support. The allowance is determined by a complex formula decided by the country's Supreme Court with the aim of providing students with a “thorough and efficient” education.
Murphy, who was elected in 2017 and is running for a second term against Ciattarelli this year, has put money into the formula. It had been neglected and not financed under its predecessor. Murphy has increased formula funding by $ 1.5 billion over the past nearly four years.
Ciattarelli said his plan could be to give an amount of money "x" to each English speaker, with more money "y" going to those learning English as a second language and the state taking over special education from local authorities. English learners would need more money because of the higher educational needs, he said.
“Let me make it clear that I will not leave a student behind. I won't leave a community behind, ”he said. "It is high time that in this state we challenge ourselves to come up with a flatter, fairer distribution."
The Republican's announcement came on the same day that a Monmouth University poll showed he was 16 points behind Murphy among registered voters. The survey of 810 registered voters was carried out from August 11 to Monday with an error rate of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Ciattarelli declined to close the poll gap on Wednesday.
In New Jersey, which regularly ranks among the states with the highest real estate taxes, it is a political rite to get involved in property taxes. The Monmouth poll found that property taxes are a top voter issue that is only crowding out COVID-19.
Murphy said adding more money to the current school formula took the pressure off property taxpayers and "kept rates in check".
The average property tax bill in 2020 was about $ 9,100, according to the state, up nearly 2% year over year.
Former GOP governor Chris Christie called for equal funding per student in 2016 as part of a revision of the funding formula. The plan went nowhere in the legislature. Ciattarelli said he believed his plan was different because it would pass the constitutional patterns.