The following is a response to yesterday’s opinion titled What If Every Jewish Child in Lakewood Were Enrolled in Public School?
I grew up in a small town in Essex County, NJ in the 1950s. There was a church-affiliated elementary school there and the principal learned that students in the town’s public school system would be receiving free dental screenings/examinations courtesy of the town Board of Education. She wanted the students in her church school to receive the same benefit so she phoned the town school superintendent and politely asked for the town-hired dentist to screen the 200-300 students in the church school. The superintendent replied that the provision of this benefit to a religious school would violate the doctrine of the Separation of Church and State (a doctrine not mentioned in the Constitution). The smart principal said, “No problem. Tomorrow, I will close my church school and my hundreds of students will register for enrollment at your four elementary schools. I guarantee that each of my students will politely ask for the free dental screenings that the public school students are scheduled to receive.”
The superintendent replied, “I have reconsidered my decision and will make sure that the dental screenings you are requesting will be provided to your students.” The superintendent kept his commitment and the principal did not close her school.
Let us assume that there are 60,000 school-age Torah children in Lakewood and the public school cost per pupil is $20,000. 60,000 x $20,000 = $1,200,000,000 ($1.2 billion). Now find the total yield of Lakewood’s property taxes and add $1,200,000,000 to that figure. Divide that total by Lakewood’s property tax yield. Your answer will hint at the expected percentage increase in Lakewood’s property tax rate. It is true that the state covers some of the costs of educating Lakewood’s children, but do not expect Lakewood’s property tax to remain constant if $1.2 billion is added to the school budget.
Dr Bert Miller
TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to [email protected]
Hence the solution: the BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL that includes the scholarship tax deduction! Blue states, including NJ, must opt in, it will not cost a penny to NJ!
The scholarship tax credit was gutted in a way that makes it barely viable for small scholarships.
The cap was lowered to a max donation of $1700 per donor and since it is a non refundable tax credit, only people who are paying more in taxes than they receive back (child tax credits, earned income tax credit etc.) are eligible to donate.
The way this program is currently written, it ain’t helping almost anybody.
This isn’t a did on Trump, republicans or the big beautiful bill. It’s just the reality of the program.
You are (partially) wrong. Refundable credits like the EIC don’t reduce your taxes, they are payments, and overpayments, towards your taxes. If you owed taxes before the refundable credits are applied (Line 24 on the 1040, you can get a scholarship credit for that amount up to $1700 and get more of your refundables refunded.
They won’t opt in, and neither will NY. The UFT is against the scholarship fund. What the UFT wants from their underlings in the Liberal Democrat party, they get.
Right now we pay tons of property taxes and get nothing for it. So say we get at least something for our $$$?? Is that asking too much ??? If not we do what Kiryas Yoel did and make our own district and get everything we deserve. Our taxes are only going up so we might as well get something for our buck. Give it some time the Chassidim will figure it out.
KJ school district is only for special needs similar to SCHI. They get no funding for the regular schools
True but then no tuition expenses
Respectfully, thebpoint of the letter was that given that the satte would be “required by law” to provide funding if everyone in Lakewood woild enroll in PS, costing them hundrrds of millions.
Knowing this they will definitely agree to give more funding and keep the current status quo.
Who is the “they” that you are referring to here? The legislature? The courts?
If parents, property owner simply pay their property taxes then it evens out and takes care of itself. Lakewood is known as an area where mysteriously property taxes do not get paid because of one diaspora. Like Kiryas Jorel, Ramapo, Nyack, etc
Not sure who knows this. I pay significant amount and don’t get much back. If you’re trying some old trope, please take it somewhere else.
Like it says in the article 60000 x 20000= 1.2 billion. The numbers just won’t work even when everyone pays in full which most if not all do.
I have no clue what your talking about, everyone who I know keeps complaining about the high property tax.
Oh right, you are just repeating the classic antisemitic trope that you are so gullible to believe.
Way to perpetuate antisemitic tropes, bigot.
You are talking about an extremely small number of people doing something perfectly within the confines of current tax law in the exact manner it was intended, but somehow by making it sound mysterious it is now a Jewish conspiracy.
Under current laws certain nonprofits don’t pay property taxes for specific types of real estate when being used in manners meeting the requirements. When meeting the guidelines, the nonprofit is allowed to own one or two homes within a certain distance as residences for clergy and that is a legal fringe benefit.
So, first understand what you are talking about (without hyperbole), and then check your bigotry at the door while you realign your assumptions.
Do not engage with a Candace lover
“Is known”. Typical lies. The tax rolls have increased consistently. And the same is true Ramapo as well. There is no place called Kira’s Jorel. But if you referring to the Town of Palm Tree in NY, RE tax rolls have consistently risen there as well. Significantly.
what is not just “known” but can be categorically proven, is that bigots will always post libelous comments like the one you did.
This is simply untrue, I have been in lkwd for decades, the taxes are outlandish (I personally have paid in many 100 thousands,and nearly everyone pays! It’s time to open the books and disclose where all that $ goes
The money goes to Liberal anti Torah policies and research for additional such endeavers.
Anti Torah policies? Explain…Can’t wait to hear this. Specifically the Torah and only the Torah!!! Nice try Schmenny
Ok but there has to be a way for us to get something for all the property taxes we pay. Half the ones going to the PS don’t even lice in lakewood they’re being bussed here and the ones that live in Lakewood don’t pat property taxes they all rent from under that pay the taxes
When you pay rent, your landlord uses a portion of your rent to pay property taxes.
Boom!
Mind blown!
Lakewood public schools do not have any students from other towns being bussed in. That is easy enough to verify. Even if there were, if they reside outside the district they would be paying tuition.
Why are we trying to close the gap between church and state? All it does is cause dangers for Jews, once we take their money they are entitled to have a say in our education. It’s a good thing for them to stay separate- we are not entitled to anything!
where does this attitude come from??
It comes from desperation.
No one is trying to close the gap. We’re just trying to resolve a funding crisis. This ideaology is also the mistake made in NYS, in regards to the attacks on Yeshiva education. The government can’t afford in any way, shape or form to start educating our children. So by registering in Public School we force them to get off our backs. In NJ, it can force them to lower propert taxes, so Lakewood residents can afford their expenses.
How would it lower property tax? If the schools are suddenly overwhelmed with “ghost” students how will that lower taxes?
Who says it will lower taxes. It will make tuition prices disappear.
I don’t understand how the state can pay the school costs for private or religious school students.
Well put.
Then enroll them just know they will not be receiving any religious teachings, we have every right to enroll our kids in the public schools we surely pay enough school taxes.
The schools have no problem teaching bilingual classes including Spanish and French.
60,000 kids would mean the Boe would have to also serve kosher and it will not be able to force children to attend mixed classs who refuse to attend only seperate classes of male and female. The same will go for bussing..
What’s flawed in the letter is that a significant amount of lakewood toms river Howell brick taxes are NOT coming back to the area. The state is using those tax dollars for camden, Paterson, Trenton, Atlantic city and other designated Abbot school districts that dont have any tax base to support those public schools.
With the enrollment of 60,000 kids lakewood Boe would be flush with cash as the formula is based on enrolled students. The threat that our taxes would go so sky high is not so true as the state will be paying the 1.2 billion and a significant amount of taxes we pay will actually come back to our towns.
Wow! Is this true?!
Would someone be able to supply numbers; how much do we pay in taxes, how much are we receiving back? What is normal to expect compared to other towns and cities? What about with the various forms of funding we receive – and again, compared to others. After everything is said and done, what is the picture?
The total assessed value of lakewod taxable property is 11.1 billion. There is no legal way for a tax to be levied that high the district would go bankrupt and the state would have to step in with the funds.
Additionally the state contributes on average 9,000$ per a public school student. Which would obligate the state to give a 500 Million dollars to lakewood school district.
If we would actually enroll the district would immediately collapse.
Yup, they will say ‘oh right, we should be grateful that we don’t have to fully educate these kids, because the district would collapse. Instead, let’s make them happy by creating a voucher system– maybe $5,000 per kid tax credit for school choice, instead of paying 20k per kid in public school.’
or something like that.
For most families of 2 or more kids, that would actually end up costing less than tuition.
I wonder what the true cost of running our school is per student? Is it $20,000? Also consider this, your school tax portion of your property tax is based on the value of your home.Kah our families, average upwards of six children. In the same type of home that would have one or two non-Jewish children. I used to buy and sell homes outside of Lakewood these four or five bedroom colonials sold by nom Jewish people would have one or two children. So the burden of the school system was not as great. when we move in and have 5or6 or seven children the busing alone that they do provide may cost as much. Let’s face it everything has gone up. I moved out of Lakewood because my property taxes were nearing $20,000 a year. For almost the same size home on a bigger piece of property in Jackson is about 12,000. And when people say we get nothing from our taxes, that is not true. From the school tax portion, which is the largest largest, we do get busing and we do get special needs. The other portion we got police fire, sanitation roads leaf, pick up public service etc.
It’s costs the State of NJ $26,280 for each kid in public school, and there are much more kids than adults in Lakewood and its surrounding towns, approximately “k’ein ayin horah” over 300,000 kids.
300,000 x $26,280 = 7,884,000,000.00 nearly “ 8 BILLION DOLLARS “ a year ! The state will go out of their mind! Boy will the Yeshiva’s and schools start getting money from the state .
During the past 40 years I paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes and I never had a kid in public school .
we should enroll everyone in public school ASAP.
Where did you get the number 300,000?
According to ChatGPT there are 31,647 students attending private schools in Lakewood, K-12.
Much Much More than 32,000
300,000 kids? No. It’s more like just under 40,000. But be careful what you wish for, enroll your children, and you better show up as your children will be considered truant and you will be hit with a fine and a court appearance.
Now that the Clark School closed there are even less non Jewish students in Lakewood. Why don’t we try to figure out a way to make our schools into public schools. I understand there are hurdles but we have a lot of smart people. If we put our heads together maybe we could figure out a way to make it work
Yes it will go up, right now I pay around 12k for property tax, and 60k for discounted tuition. I’ll gladly take 24k property tax and free tuition
Your story disproves your point. The woman did not want to close her school. Rather, she protested and it was effective.
90% of the students in Lakewood are privately educated, yet everyone pays property tax. We want to see our money benefiting our children. The BOE is getting off easy in Lakewood by not having to provide services for 90% of its students.
If everyone enrolls in public school, they will NOT be able to provide 30k kids with schooling- without premises, staff, etc. It is a protest. We are entitled to free schooling and we don’t claim that benefit– so at least let us have something.
Dr. Miller, first I enjoy your eruv stories each year – I read them the day the new phone book comes.
Second, you said, the state would step in a bit but it would not be enough. But I’m thinking, if it was indeed hard for them, perhaps the federal gov would supply the shortfall, wouldn’t that make sense? It’s no different than Pres. Trump sending in the National Guard to various cities; if the city needs extra help (whether they realize it or not, and whether they want it or not!:) the fed. gov. will help.
Would they not do so with education as well? Maybe it’s high time we appeal to Trump for this, as NJ isn’t going to do anything about it soon.
I see others are saying that a significant amount of Lakewood tax money gets used for schooling in other cities that have much less tax base?!
Dr. Miller, don’t look at the thumbs down on my comment; this silly thumbs things was introduced here a few months ago – it could technically – work when you know who you’re dealing with, but when people use it to hide behind two layers of anonymity; we don’t know who they are, and we don’t know why they’re not happy with a comment, and instead of expressing themselves AND ALLOWING THEIR IDEAS TO BE DEBATED they just give silly thumbs down it’s less than meaningless.