PARSIPPANY — Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce is again asking Governor Phil Murphy to authorize an audit of education funding in New Jersey as way to root out waste and provide tax relief for homeowners and renters.
“I appreciate that the governor ordered an audit of the Economic Development Agency and an audit of NJ Transit – and those audits were helpful — but neither of them will help the state deal with its number one problem, which is property taxes,” said DeCroce.
“The key to property tax relief is finding out where our education tax money is going and how much can be saved by eliminating waste and improving efficiency,” said DeCroce, who twice last year asked the governor to commission an extensive school spending audit.
DeCroce said taxpayers are funding about $28 billion a year on education in New Jersey – which makes school costs by far the biggest driver of property taxes, especially outside urban areas. State homeowners pay the highest property taxes in the nation and New Jersey spends the third highest amount of any state on education in the nation.
“New Jersey’s ridiculously high property taxes are not only a burden to working people, they are disincentive for business to locate or expand here,” said DeCroce, a realtor. “Property taxes drive up the cost of homeownership and are one of the main reason people are fleeing New Jersey.”
DeCroce said despite enormous sums spent on education by state residents, she hears from teachers and parents who say their classrooms often lack essentials such as pencils and paper.
“It is a fiscal and moral imperative that the legislature and the governor find out where our education tax money is going, and how we can use it more efficiently,” said DeCroce. “The answer to better education cannot always be to spend more of the taxpayer’s money.”
