I really don’t understand the conversation. WE ARE BROKE! TAXES ARE THROUGH THE ROOF. What don’t you understand? I pay more a month for property taxes than the average person pays for rent or mortgage. Are there other areas that need to be addressed YES. Does that mean it is wrong to address EMS? NO! I am sympathetic to the pay cuts that EMS has endured. I am also sympathetic to all the unemployed in Lakewood who still have to pay their sky high property taxes. We elected a Governor and a Township Committee to deal with this issue, and when they do, we complain. It’s Bizzaro world! Unlike the current US administration, you can’t increase spending and at the same time reduce taxes, it defies the laws of economics. So thank you Mayor Langert for your leadership and thank you EMS for your services and sacrifice, the two are NOT mutually exclusive. I am appreciative of the savings and at the same time we need to lend our moral and financial support to all those dedicated individuals that have taken a pay cut… it hurts as much as higher taxes.

Now we also need to look at all areas of savings including busing (an issue that is so often raised). Let’s find ways to bring that cost down. But busing is NOT a favor to the private school system, it is funded by the tax payers who primarily don’t receive anything else from the school budget except for busing. However we still need to look there. Some ideas:

• Consolidate schools and buses: I see so many buses go half empty. Why can’t schools that are in close proximity share buses?
• No more busing for children past 6th grade (yes this will affect me). There is no reason that they can’t walk/bike to school, the exercise may even help them.
• Keep to the 3 mile radius guideline for eligibility to any school – yes, this will affect me too. Why is it the tax payers problem to pay for your busing? Just because you chose to send your kid to Tashbar/YTT/Cheder instead of the closest school? I understand the reason, my only point is that it is not fair to make others pay for busing when there is an alternative that would not require the additional expense.
• No more busing on legal Holidays, will it kill people to take their kids to school on a day off?

We also need to look at all the extracurricular activities in the Public School system. When times are tough should we be funding art, baseball, football fields etc? Yes they are important to the growth of children but should the tax payer pay for things beyond strict education? Why can’t parents pay a minimal amount to cover these activities. Think of it like a co-pay when you visit the doctor. Should every taxpayer in Lakewood pay for these “nice to haves”?

We need to see how we can tighten our belts across the board and stop the us against them attitude that is so incendiary and glaring beneath the surface of the debate. This is OUR town and it can only be saved if we work TOGETHER!