LAWRENCE: School board wants more from tax exempt schools

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   LAWRENCE — The Lawrence Township Board of Education is calling on the New Jersey School Boards Association for help in requiring private schools and colleges to reimburse public school districts for the cost of educating the children of faculty members who live in tax-exempt campus housing.
   The school board adopted a resolution Monday night that asks for a resolution to be placed on the agenda of the NJSBA’s Delegate Assembly when it meets in November. The Delegate Assembly, which consists of one representative from each public school district, is the policy-making arm of the NJSBA.
   The resolution had its genesis in discussions between the school board and township resident Peter Radice, who has been pushing for The Lawrenceville School to reimburse the school district for the cost of educating the faculty’s children, said school board vice president Leon Kaplan.
   The Lawrenceville School sends about 30 children, who live in tax-exempt housing, to the Lawrence Township public schools, Mr. Kaplan said. The private school does not pay property taxes on the faculty housing on its campus.
   ”We do not get any property tax revenue,” Mr. Kaplan said, adding that the cost of educating the 30 children is about $500,000. If The Lawrenceville School paid $500,000 in tuition for those children, it would amount to about 1 cent in property tax revenue, he said.
   State Senator Shirley K. Turner (D-15th Legislative District) introduced a bill in 2001 that would require private schools and colleges to reimburse public school districts for the cost of educating children who live in tax-exempt housing, but the bill “has gone no place,” Mr. Kaplan said. It has been bottled up in the Senate Education Committee.
   The goal of putting the issue before the Delegate Assembly is to gain enough support to get the Turner bill out of committee, Mr. Kaplan said. If the Delegate Assembly approves of the resolution, it would allow the NJSBA to lobby for the proposed bill to become law, he said.
   ”We are one of many districts in a similar quandary,” he said, pointing to the East Windsor Regional School District, which is home to the Peddie School. The private boarding school is located in Hightstown Borough, which is part of the regional school district.
   The Lawrenceville School contributes about $60,000 to the Lawrence Township Education Foundation, Mr. Kaplan said. The LTEF gives grants to school district teachers for special projects that are not included in the school district’s operating budget.
   ”We are grateful for the money that The Lawrenceville School gives us, but the issue (of tuition reimbursement) has only come to this point because we are so cash-strapped,” school board president Laura Waters said.
   If the private school reimbursed the school district for the cost of educating its students, Ms. Waters said, that $500,000 payment would fund the salaries and benefits of about six teachers, for example. The school district was forced to cut staff — including teachers — for 2010-11 because of a shortfall in funding. Many veteran teachers retired rather than face layoffs.