Support nonpublic school scholarship

It's a path out of poverty for children in failing districts

Nonpublic schools benefit New Jersey's children, parents, taxpayers and communities. Most New Jerseyans understand this. Studies show it, parents know it and the public doesn't doubt it.
 

With such a great nonpublic education system available in our state, with schools willing and able to accept new students from all backgrounds and academic vantages, and with parental demand for educational options at an all-time high, why are tens of thousands of New Jersey students still trapped in failing and underperforming public schools?
 

It's a tragedy. Great schools sit with seats available and room to grow. But blocks away, in some cases, the government is forcing low-income children to attend crumbling schools that fail to educate children at the most basic level, despite massive amounts of funding.
 

If we all agree that education is the great equalizer, that a quality school can make the difference between graduation and success or a life of want, then we should all support the Opportunity Scholarship Act.

State Sens. Ray Lesniak, D-Union, and Tom Kean, R-Union, are fighting to pass this legislation, which would allow low-income children to attend the nonpublic schools of their parents' choice. The legislation, which is revenue neutral to the state, also is supported by Gov. Chris Christie, who has expended significant political capital to promote its passage.
 

The bill, which is scheduled to be debated in an Assembly committee Thursday, makes perfect sense. Legislators realize that nonpublic schools — religious and secular — are some of the only options left for many children in New Jersey's failing school districts, of which there are 30. New Jersey's nonpublic schools are willing and able to accept more students.
 

In fact, many already provide scholarships to low-income children, at significant cost.

Unfortunately, a small group of well-funded special interests wants you to begin reconsidering doubts about the fairness and effectiveness of nonpublic schools in New Jersey.
 

In their attempt to turn the state's attention away from the 13 largest school districts with persistently failing public schools, anti-reform advocates in our state — including the New Jersey Education Association — have launched a full-scale assault on supporters of nonpublic education in New Jersey, calling us everything from unqualified hacks to outright bigots. They've called nonpublic schools unsatisfactory and discriminatory. They're not.
 

As the executive director of an organization working on behalf of New Jersey's Orthodox Jewish community, I hope to do my part to tell the truth about New Jersey's nonpublic schools, including the many Jewish day schools, or yeshivas, that are making a difference in the lives of thousands of children across our state.

Parents love nonpublic schools for their children because the academic quality in these schools is unsurpassed. In these schools, parents are empowered to make decisions about their children's education, and as a result, these schools provide individualized, personalized attention to children.
 

As a result, nonpublic schools provide substantial benefits to all taxpayers. Nonpublic school parents, after all, spend significant sums on tuition, on top of paying taxes for local public schools their children don't use.

If New Jersey's nonpublic school students were forced, because of the failing economy or state overreach, back into the public school system, the cost to state taxpayers would be in excess of $3.5 billion per year.

For these reasons, states across the country — Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island — have passed and expanded similar types of programs. The results of these programs are very similar: students benefit, taxpayers save money, public schools actually improve, the state becomes more competitive and innovation thrives.
 

With the right leadership in Trenton, the truth about nonpublic schools and their potential to benefit children will win out over the fear-mongering and negativity of the special interests.

New Jersey's educational system needs a healthy dose of innovation to rescue the thousands of children trapped in failing schools, and the Opportunity Scholarship Act offers just that.
 

Josh Pruzansky is executive director of Agudath Israel of New Jersey.