Education bureaucrats want YOU to pay higher taxes (Opinion)

Florence, Hillsborough and Monroe voters will all have an opportunity to keep their taxes in check by voting "No" on the upcoming March 12th local ballot questions.

In each of these three NJ towns, the education bureaucrats want more money. Of course they will justify the new taxes with claims about outdated HVAC, need for new security vestibules, but we've heard it all before. And it doesn't mean that some of these upgrades aren't needed. BUT, if you're with me #DigginIn to the Garden State then we need to act. And act fast, and decisively.

#NotOneMoreDollar has to be the rallying cry for those of us that want to stop our friends, neighbors and employers from creating and acting on their #ExitPlan.

People ask me all the time, how do we fix it? Here's how: Vote "NO". No matter what they want you to fund, Vote "NO". Then vote against any member of the Assembly in 2019 who voted for tax hikes in the past year. Then Fire Governor Murphy in 2021. Elect a Governor with the courage to fight the special interests for real change, not the fake change for false middle class champions like Chris Christie and certainly not fake working class hero Steve Sweeney.

We need a Governor who will dramatically slash spending by using a #RedSharpie to exercise his line item veto. We need a Governor who will create a fair funding formula for school funding by empowering Charters and private schools who are educating kids successfully, many times with much higher graduation rates, at a far lower cost than the public system. We need a governor who will point out the absurdity of having nearly a thousand education bureaucrats making $150k or higher AND getting around salary caps with perks and benefits.

But change starts at home.

We won a significant victory a few weeks ago stopping a couple hundred million in new spending in Cherry Hill and Hackensack. Had a bit of a setback in Toms River, but we live to fight another day. That day is March 12th.

Vote "NO" in Florence, Hillsborough and Monroe and send the message to Trenton that we have had enough.

The education bureaucracy will not get one more dollar until the political insiders start addressing real solutions. How about converting all new teachers to a 403B defined contribution plan? How about renegotiating health benefits as former Senator Jen Beck advocated and showed billions in savings? Wanna stay in Jersey? Wanna have an environment in Jersey where you can afford a middle class lifestyle and have a reasonable expectation that you can retire here? Have your kids and grandkids raised here? Then take step one and Vote "NO" on EVERY local ballot Question.

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

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