In a letter to the editor, Hoboken resident Pavel Sokolov explains why the local voters needs to elect board of education trustees who can plan for the future.
Jersey City recently underwent one of the harshest property tax increases in recent memory due to, as Mayor Fulop pointed out, the Jersey City Board of Education.
The roughly 20% increase stems from a bloated budget on top of a lack of foresight regarding how to budget for planned cuts in state aid.
While I feel for the residents of Jersey City who know must bear thousands more in annual property taxes, especially those who are on a fixed income or living paycheck to paycheck,
I want to warn the other municipalities in Hudson County that the very same could happen to them if their Board of Educations are not held accountable.
In Hoboken this past January, the board of education tried to levy a $240 million bond during a time of rampant inflation and economic uncertainty.
Like Jersey City, Hoboken is primed to lose a significant portion of its state aid, yet no plan to plug the gap has been presented, even worse this year’s budget was only reined in due to COVID-19 grants that are soon expiring.
We need to vote in board of education members who are able to plan for the future and who have an understanding of the economic reality the average resident of our towns is facing.
Gone are the days of frivolous spending and patronage jobs, now we must make sure that every dollar spent is going towards improving the quality of education of our schools.
Pavel Sokolov
Hoboken resident