Legislators right to vote against budget

Senator Oroho, Assemblyman Space and Assemblyman Wirths were absolutely correct to vote against the State Budget for a myriad of reasons. However there is no more important reason than educational aid. In a statement released by Senator Oroho, he stated “I am greatly concerned about the adverse impact on property taxes in my legislative district due to the loss of education aid to most of the school districts that I represent...school aid is just too important for its impact on property taxes that I will be voting No today.” He’s right. This area of the state is slated to lose nearly $40M annually in state educational aid thanks to Democrats in Trenton and our “pro education” Governor.
The state of Sussex County’s educational infrastructure not only has a tremendous impact on home values and property taxes as the Senator stated, it also has a tremendous impact on our county’s economy and future. New Jersey consistently ranks as one of the best in the country when it comes to education while we live in a state that is located between an economic hub of the world with New York City and an economic hub of our country with Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Sussex County has the ability to be on the cutting edge when it comes to career technical education, which I believe we are well suited for, at a time when it is becoming a serious need for employers and a serious consideration for our students.
Investing in Sussex County’s public education infrastructure is vital and it has taken a major blow due to the failures of Trenton. Our students, teachers and taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay the price for the inability of Trenton to fairly fix the school funding formula and I’m thankful to see our local leaders in Trenton take on that issue because, yes, it’s too important.
Anthony Fasano
Candidate for Sussex County Freeholder