Published March 30, 2023
Fredon is one of two towns in Sussex County to vote on its school budget. I wanted to explain why getting out to vote "yes" to the budget - and spread the word - is crucial this year.
The Fredon School budget did not increase at all last year (no increase to taxpayers) and it was still voted down. This year's budget asks taxpayers for about $50 more for every $100,000 in assessed property value.
With this year's proposal, we will again keep the staff and programs we all love.
If the budget gets voted down, an additional cut could come (and the school has already responsibly navigated the funding cuts it suffers each year from the State of New Jersey).
As I see it, multiple grades are already at one classroom of 20 or more children and staff positions have been reduced to part-time or shared with other schools where they can work within state guidelines (for example, sometimes a certain amount of gym classes are mandated to be held each week and some special services must always be available). Still, yearly state cuts are probable and the need for a partial new roof is imminent.
Why Your "Yes" Vote Is Crucial
It appears that no matter how responsible the budget is, there are at least 260 voters in town who vote "no" to it (election results from 2021 and 2022). I don't blame them either! If you gave me the chance to vote on Fredon Township's municipal budget, I would vote it down sometimes too to ask them to look at it again. No one really ever wants to pay more in taxes.
The Goal
Still, if we want to keep our staff and programs, I estimate that we need more than 280 votes to pass this budget.
So, please, make sure to:
Mark your calendar for Tuesday, April 25 and vote "yes" at the Civic Center between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Reach out to your neighbors, friends, and family and ask them to vote "yes" too!
Keep eyes and ears out for any talks of consolidating Kittatinny's schools, because the State may be pushing us toward that path with their cuts and - if done right - could benefit us all.
Share tax refund and savings information so our residents (especially our senior citizens) can continue to support all of Fredon’s important services too.
As always, if you are concerned about state cuts and culture wars in education, I’ll continue to believe our best path forward as a community is to "Protest the State and Support the Schools," so please vote "yes" and keep the heart of our community strong!
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