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Urges Senate to approve her legislation

Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex) Thursday urged the state Senate to pass several measures she is sponsoring that would create more accountability and oversight in the creation and operation of charter schools in New Jersey.

The legislation (A-3356 and A-3852), which provide what the Assemblywoman describes as a sensible approach to Gov. Chris Christie’s effort to expand the number of charter schools in the state. The bills were approved by the Assembly in June and discussed by the Senate Education Committee Thursday.

Jasey is an advocate for requiring voter approval before charter schools can be opened in a school district because taxpayer money helps supports the schools.

“School budgets account for more than half of local taxpayer dollars, and I strongly believe that voters should have the opportunity, indeed the right, to decide if they want a charter school located in their school district,” Jasey told the Education Committee. “By definition, proposed charter schools will result in a diversion of funds from the traditional public schools whose budgets have already been cut to the bone due to ever increasing costs and the 2 percent cap.

“I believe that charter schools play an important role as incubators of innovation, and should be collaborating with our traditional public schools to share best practices,” Jasey added. “However, in these challenging economic times, as our school districts struggle financially to provide all of our students with the excellent education to which they are entitled, a proliferation of charter schools competing for scarce dollars is fraught with problems for all the students of a school district.”

One bill (A-3852), requires final voter approval at the annual school election or by the board of school estimate before the establishment of a charter school. The proposal has five co-sponsors: Assembly Education Chairman Patrick Diegnan, Jr. (D-Middlesex), and Assemblymen Peter Barnes III (D-Middlesex), John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), Ralph Caputo (D-Essex), and Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer). The bill was approved in the Assembly by a vote of 47-17 with 14 abstentions.

The other bill (A-3356), would create what is described as greater accountability and transparency of charter schools and their operations. Assemblyman Albert Coutinho (D-Essex) is a co-sponsor. The measure was approved in the Assembly by a vote of 72-6.

“Careful review should be given to enrollment practices and monitoring,” Jasey said. “Conversation about all of these issues is critical, but this is also a time for action, and I would urge the committee to post this bill so that the Senate can make its voice heard on this measure, as well as the referendum bill,” Jasey concluded in her testimony.

—TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM