Ciattarelli’s 2021 property tax plan proposed diverting education funding away from urban schools to suburban, shore area, and rural schools. Critics warned that taking funding from schools in poor cities would increase racial and economic divides that already existed in New Jersey.
2021: Ciattarelli’s Campaign Website Included His Plan To Lower Property Taxes, In Which He Called To “Restore State Aid To Struggling Suburban, Shore Area And Rural Schools.” According to Jack 4 NJ via Wayback Machine, “Restore state aid to struggling suburban, shore area and rural schools to relieve the financial burden on local communities” [Jack 4 NJ via Wayback Machine, Archived 11/2/21]
2021: Star Ledger Editorial Board: Ciattarelli’s Plan To Address Property Taxes Would Have Diverted Funding From Urban Schools And Shifted The Funding To The Suburbs, Which Would Have Increased New Jersey’s Racial And Economic Divide. According to the Star Ledger Editorial Board via NJ.com, “His answer to high property taxes is to divert money from urban schools and send it to the suburbs instead, a policy that would deepen the state’s racial and economic divide and sabotage the measurable progress we’ve seen in districts like Newark and Camden.” [Star Ledger Editorial Board via NJ.com, 10/21/21]
HEADLINE: Tom Moran Opinion: “Ciattarelli’s Ugly Plan On Property Taxes: Raid Funds Aimed At Poor Cities” [Tom Moran Opinion – NJ.com, 10/3/21]
Tom Moran Opinion: Instead Of Increasing State Aid To Schools, Ciattarelli Proposed To “Restore State Aid To The Struggling Suburban, Shore Area, And Rural Schools,” Notably Excluding Urban Districts, Which Would Impact Poor Cities. According to a Tom Moran opinion from NJ.com, “Ciattarelli offers robotic evasions when you ask him about this. He says he doesn’t want to increase total state aid to schools but would divide the pie differently. He wants ‘fairer and flatter’ funding and says he would ‘restore state aid to the struggling suburban, shore area, and rural schools.’ Note that he leaves only urban districts off that list. So, the math tells us that poor cities would take a hit, equal to the increases elsewhere. But Ciattarelli dances when you ask him that directly. ‘I’m not going to leave any student behind,’ he says. I tried again: ‘If we protect each and every district in providing what they need, I don’t think we’ll hurt anybody.’” [Tom Moran Opinion – NJ.com, 10/3/21]
Tom Moran Opinion: Ciattarelli’s Property Tax Plan Targeted Democratic Cities, Fanned “Resentment In The Suburbs,” And Would Have Deepened Racial Divides In New Jersey. According to a Tom Moran opinion from NJ.com, “If Ciattarelli were to argue that towns like Toms River need more money, fine. He could find a way to increase education spending, or shift money from wealthier towns that could take the blow. But he’s playing a political game instead, targeting Democratic cities, and fanning resentment in the suburbs. At a time when the pandemic has underscored racial inequities across the country, Ciattarelli offers a plan that would deepen that divide here in New Jersey, in a school system that is today among the most segregated in America.” [Tom Moran Opinion – NJ.com, 10/3/21]