Dear Editor:
I am writing to endorse Carol Lester for Jersey City Board of Education.
We have a crisis at our doorstep. We have a dysfunctional, bloated, and top-heavy school system with a high per pupil cost. Our public school system is failing to deliver the necessary educational services to all students at a cost we can afford. Our current school budget exceeds our city budget by 50 percent. With continued reductions in state subsidies, combined with existing long-term tax abatements on luxury condominium buildings, homeowners and small landlords will be forced to foot the bill with more property tax increases.
We need new leadership and we need it now.
Fortunately, we have the opportunity to elect to the school board an individual who will work to make our schools better and serve the public interest.
I ask you to vote for Carol Lester because when she decided that the class sizes at her local school were unacceptable, she did not move to the suburbs. She did not put her daughter in private school. Instead, she joined other dedicated Jersey City families to found and then, as board president, lead the Learning Community Charter School (LCCS), one of New Jersey’s most successful public charter schools. The public charter school Carol led succeeded in improving scores while spending nearly 50 percent less per pupil then in our district schools, and while providing recess, gym, art, and music.
With our support and our vote, Carol Lester can put her experience to work on improving public education in Jersey City, school by school.
Please vote on Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., for Carol Lester.
Daniel Levin
onejerseycity.org