I applaud the Jackson Township Council and township officials for proposing that the state of New Jersey fund private school transportation.
I believe that with the rise in private schools and the number of students attending them, the cost of transportation will be very costly not only to the Jackson public school district, but also to surrounding towns. This will be a burden on the public school district budgets and on taxpayers.
The archaic state mandate which mandates that public school districts must provide transportation for students attending private schools does not take into consideration the number of students attending private schools.
Just look at what happened to the Lakewood public school district budget. The money taken from the public school budget for private school transportation impacts the education of the students attending the public schools and our taxes.
I totally agree with what the Jackson Township Council is proposing and I believe other surrounding towns, (Toms River, Howell, Brick Township and Manchester) should also petition the state to fund transportation and special needs services for private schools.
The state takes in millions from sports betting and now from taxes on the sale of legal recreational pot. This cost of private school transportation should not be the burden of the public school districts and the taxpayers.
Frank Resola
Jackson