The real impact of the proposed school tax increase

First, we want to say that we hope you and your family are safe as we experience this unprecedented time with Covid-19. Covid-19 has had an impact on Paterson, the Nation and the educational experience of our children. We are doing everything in our power to improve the educational experience for the children of Paterson. You might have seen some of this with the continued deployment of Chromebooks to our students and the revamping of our Virtual/Distance educational model. More improvements are coming as we continue to learn and adjust to this new normal.

We wanted to take a moment and bring you up to speed on the current budget cycle we are in. We are sure by now you have heard the Board and Paterson Public Schools is proposing at 14% tax increase. As you know many of the Board, PPS staff and teachers are homeowners in Paterson, and we are directly impacted by any increase of tax.

So, we want to explain what the tax increase means to the average homeowner in Paterson. A 14% increase on a $190,000 assessed house is an extra $4.63 in taxes per week, $20 a month or $241 per year. Staying with the same $190,000 assessed home with a $10,000 annual property tax bill for example, the new annual tax bill would be $10,241 this would be an increase is 2.4% per year not 14%.

Why do we need the additional $241 on a house assessed at $190,000? We need the increased revenue to help provide laptops to our young learners, to improve the distance/remote learning, to implement more intervention programs to improve the reading/math levels, provide needed programs to our special need’s children and to save jobs.

We are not minimizing any tax increase to the homeowners of Paterson, however we wanted you to know there would be further cuts to our young learner’s education experience, more overcrowding of classes and even less educators if we did not ask for $241 more from an house assessed at $190,000.

We hope that this message helps you better understand the current budget cycle we are in. The BOE and PPS are working very hard to increase our revenue and to look for more cost savings opportunities that do not include laying off our critical needed teachers.

School board president Kenneth Simmons
Vice president Manny Martinez
Vincent Arrington
Oshin Castillo-Cruz
Nakima Redmon

MarquinhoGaucho

Manny Martinez is in a charter school, Arrington is a charter lackey whose campaign was paid for by charters, Castillo is in the charters pocket as well as Redmon. All they want is to raise taxes so their pockets get fatter on the backs of property owners. Ever since the charters started they have been draining funds from our public schools like a cancerous mutant leech. The whole Modus Operendi of the Charters which they get from their Wall Street Hedge Fund Masters behind this is , is defund the Public Schools, create a failing system, the parents get mad then they offer private capital (charters) as the solution.Little by little these weasels chip away at our schools, teacher layoff, closing public schools, while charters expand. The Charters NEVER make any concessions, never lay off teachers or close schools. Ms Castillo incorrectly said if they didnt give in to the charters the state would take over the district again. Not True. Look at Clifton. They wanted to put a charter in Clifton and their board of Ed who is wise to the charters crooked intentions said "No way, we wont pay" where is their takeover? Do not be fooled by these crooked weasels. Their whole intention is to bleed us dry while they laugh to the bank and destroy public education for their profit. Paterson needs to create an economic impact report. Make the Charters open their book. They are sitting on millions in surplus, while we lay off teachers, close schools and lay off Paterson residents.
- Paterson Resident
  
  I am sure many of the teachers who would have been laid off lives in Paterson, own properties in Paterson and are life long residents of Paterson. They will also incur that high property tax increase, but yet they have no job security in the city that they call home. SHAME SHAME SHAME