Reengineering New Jersey's Education System

Our education system is broken. In private, behind closed doors, teachers whisper their complaints to friends they dare not, DARE NOT, say in public or they'll suffer the NJEA's wrath. The same goes for other union members, what they say in the kitchen, and what they say in the union halls are two different things. They are AFRAID of their own union leader's MO.

Afraid of reprisals, in America. Afraid they will be punished for speaking their minds. Enslaved by fear and self interest to the determent of the children and the public they serve. The system is not the fault of the teachers, but of their masters who have purchased pet politicians to rig the laws to keep themselves in power. Now the teachers are trapped, the must go along to get along, or else. They need to be set free of the NJEA, and so do we.

We have no educational freedom, only the curriculum dictated by the politicians. That sounds more like a totalitarian state than America, but that is what we have today. That is not the America we want for our children. It is high time the teachers stood with the public to change the system that is failing us all, and stand with the parents fighting for school choice, not against it.

The 3 Education Realities

1) There is only one RIGHT funding formula for education and that is each child receiving equal funding by age and need.

2) There is only one right funding distribution method and that is each parent having the freedom to choose the school that is right for their child, be it private, public, charter, or parochial.

3) There is only one fair method of taxation to support education, and that is one based upon income, as if you do not consider a families income you unjustly burden the poor.

Open School Voucher's address our greatest needs.

Regardless of what you call the new system, "vouchers" or "tax credits" or "scholarships", the concept remains the same, a set amount per child, allocated to a school based on the parents choice. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" so the term Public Voucher System will do as well as any. The education is deemed "public" because the pubic pays the bill, not because a government employee delivers the education.

One DOZEN benefits of an open public education voucher system, funded 100% by income tax, and distributed to each school by parental choice are listed below;

1) Property tax is cut in half. No system is more unfair to the disadvantaged than property tax which has no consideration for the income of the family. Property tax is literally a medieval concept from the days only Lords owned land and no longer appropriate in this age.

2) Ends rich-town, poor-town, disparity and all "funding formula" debates by utilizing state income tax funding instead of property tax "ratables", with a schedule of voucher values that apply to every child in the state, by age and need. (special ed $ > high school > k-6 )

3) Ends runaway spending by schools by capping a schools budget at the sum of the vouchers of the enrollees.

4) Ends political finagling with education funds with a clear cut distribution model.

5) Facilitates the proliferation of private schools of ALL KINDS. One room schools, or schools for special children, with special needs, the math wizards, musicians, scientists, will come into existence when teachers are free to hang up their shingles as individuals or in groups to take on the challenges.

6) Reduces the public payroll/benefits burden as parents begin to take their children to the new private schools.

7) Reduces the school construction demands as private schools find their own facilities. (School Construction is $7B in debt)

8 ) Promotes fairness in educational opportunities that currently only the well-to-do can afford. We can no longer shut out our poor, or make our middle class pay twice for private education (once in tuition, and again in taxes).

9) All the teachers will also have the opportunity to pursue innovative careers in the educational field of their choice, creating their own environments free of government interference. Subject only to testing standards and parental approvals.

10) Bad schools will die a natural death as parents remove their children. No more pouring good money after bad into failing schools. Every lost student is lost funding, they improve or close.

11) Teachers will also be freed of impossible restrictions that prevent them from maintaining discipline by being able to expel unmanageable students.

12) Unmanageable students will benefit from environments structured for their special needs as we have marvelous teachers willing to take on such demanding tasks.

One dozen reasons why a Voucher System will benefit everyone, the tax payer, the students, the parents, and the teachers. The entity that will NOT benefit is the NJEA union as teachers running their own schools will have no use for them any more, and will finally be free to TEACH.

Come on, TEACHERS! Help us to help set you free. Support an open school voucher system and opportunities will open for you to excel in your profession. Take that leap into the 21st century and help build the new system to see us into the future.