North Bergen mayoral hopeful Larry Wainstein is applauding Gov. Phil Murphy for supporting a bill that would restore $780,065 in state aid for the local board of education, which received a cut of $1,181,916 in this year’s state budget.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Governor Murphy is always a powerful advocate for North Bergen families – especially our students. I thank him and commend him for his efforts to restore hundreds of thousands of dollars in state aid to our school district,” Wainstein said in a statement.
“The aid restoration will prevent employee layoffs and stop cuts to programs that help keep students on the right track.”
Wainstein, heading a board of commissioners ticket in his third consecutive, shot at the mayor’s seat, also commended the North Bergen teachers for their ongoing efforts.
“Our teachers work long hours, including before and after school and on the weekends, to help our children realize their God-given potential,” he added.
“Teachers pay for many of their own classroom supplies, even with inflation causing record high costs. I thank them for their hard work and dedication to our children. It is obvious that Governor Murphy also holds them in high regard.”
Bill S-3732 would inject $102,784,455 across dozens of district throughout New Jersey, with the Jersey City Public Schools being the biggest winner by far, though North Bergen, the Hudson County Schools of Technology, Hoboken, and Weehawken would also benefit.
The measure is sponsored by state Senators Vin Gopal (D-11) and Andrew Zwicker, along with Assemblyman Roy Freiman (both D-16), and the governor almost immediately signaled that he was on board.
The state Senate unanimously approved (36-0) the bill at Monday’s session.
Phil Swibinski, a spokesman for North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco’s re-election campaign, said that he, unlike Wainstein, has been a strong advocate for local school funding for years (Sacco is also the state Senator of the 32nd Legislative District).
“Mayor Sacco not only voted to restore this critical funding for North Bergen schools, he was a key supporter of an amendment that would have reversed the full $1.2 Million funding cut to schools in North Bergen as well as the cuts to districts in Jersey City and Weehawken,” he said in a statement.
“While that amendment was unfortunately defeated in the State Senate, Mayor Sacco has proven many times that he will always continue fighting for North Bergen schools to get their fair share of state aid. It’s laughable to see Larry Wainstein try to insert himself into a discussion over school funding that he has absolutely nothing to do with, and North Bergen residents know that they can always count on Mayor Sacco to stand up for local schools.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated with a comment from Phil Swibinski, a spokesman for North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco’s re-election campaign.
This clown “LW” is talking out of his rear. He has no clue of teachers needs. His kids don’t go to school in NB. They don’t even live in town. I can go on and on about this clown LW. Vote column “B” Team Sacco