Senate Panel Advances CIANJ Supported School Choice Bill, 05/08/2008

Senate Economic Growth Committee Approves Tax-Credit Scholarship Program for Urban Districts

Business community offers support for investment in children trapped in failing schools

Paramus, New Jersey - The Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ) today applauded the Senate Economic Growth Committee for passing the Urban Enterprise Zone Jobs Scholarship Act (S-1607). The legislation would allow corporations to make tax-deductible contributions to scholarship organizations in eight cities. Children in these cities could then use the dollars to attend other participating public or non-public schools of their choice. The eight pilot districts in the bill are Newark, Camden, Trenton, Elizabeth Orange, Paterson, Jersey City and Lakewood.

CIANJ has long-supported school choice as a means of improving education while saving taxpayer dollars. The committee voted 4-0 to approve the five-year pilot program, which is based on programs already successfully implemented in states such as Pennsylvania and Arizona.

“The business community is frustrated because it no longer consistently knows the value of a New Jersey high school diploma, and we have always supported increased accountability in the state’s school system” said Paul Tyahla, CIANJ Vice President of Government Affairs, in his testimony. “Allowing children to leave a school that is not meeting their needs is the best way to holds schools and school districts accountable.”

CIANJ stressed that the legislation approved today not only offers the opportunity to boost student achievement, but also to offer long-term taxpayer savings. As high-performing private schools close within New Jersey’s urban centers, the children of those schools enter the public school system at some of the highest per-pupil costs in the nation. Within the pilot districts, this added cost is compounded by the fact students are often entering already overcrowded and underperforming schools.

“The UEZ Jobs Scholarship Act offers New Jersey the opportunity to improve student achievement while saving taxpayer dollars. Passing it should be a priority of legislators everywhere,” Tyahla concluded.

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