In another attempt to continue the trend in New Jersey to increase spending and taxes instead of re-evaluating school funding and providing tax relief to overtaxed parents, many of whom no longer have kids in school, Cherry Hill bureaucrats are pulling a fast one.

In 2018, the school administrators tried unsuccessfully to get approval to spend an additional $210 million. This year, they are going for broke with a $363 million ask.

Our phone lines blew up when caller Beth from Cherry Hill talked about how she voted no in 2018 but as a member of the committee charged with reviewing the hundreds of pages for the new ask, she was a yes vote. What's interesting is that her position was all about the transparency of the ask instead of the critical need for the money.

Listen here:

Is there anyone in New Jersey who really believes that government needs MORE of our money? It would seem to me that the fact that 70% of the moves are out of state, it's not because we're not spending enough money. As the famous economist Milton Freidman said, people will "vote with their feet."

Before taking the vote to head to lower tax states with schools that are on par with Jersey, Cherry Hill residents have an opportunity to vote NO on Thursday, Oct. 6 and give taxpayers a break.

Dr. Pnina Mintz joined me to explain why voting NO is so important.

She articulated what most parents think: yes, we want great schools and yes, we want our kids to experience a great education in a modern, efficient school building. But there are three reasons to VOTE NO:

  • The sheer size. This is an ADDITIONAL $363 million coming from taxpayers in a time of recession and inflation. People don't have the extra cash.
  • Lack of transparency. The administrators over the past two years formed internal committees of insiders to review hundreds of pages without any real communication to the public. Most Cherry Hill residents don't even know the election is taking place. Cherry Hill already pays among the highest taxes in New Jersey.
  • Timing is sneaky...and expensive. They moved the election which should have been aligned with the November election, adding another $130k cost to the town budget. Holding a special election on a random Thursday with a national general election looming just a few weeks later is sneaky and as we have seen in the past, designed to suppress the turnout.

The bottom line is that the vote is simple. A yes vote empowers education bureaucrats, does nothing to help underpaid teachers and kids struggling from two years of lockdowns and mandates. AND WILL RAISE YOUR TAXES.

A NO vote resets the clock and puts parents back in charge by forcing the administrators to embrace fiscally responsible policies.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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