I’m heartened to see that our elected school board officials are working diligently to trim the school budget in West Windsor. They need to cut close to the bone without sacrificing academic standards. The people of West Windsor need to turn out in droves for the upcoming election; their financial solvency may depend on it. The era of rubber stamped school budgets is over for good. Who can afford more taxes than we pay already?
It is preposterous that another $1 million is being tied onto the already oversized budget to subsidize the Princeton International Academy Charter School, which will teach Mandarin to kids in our town as well as Princeton, Montgomery, and South Brunswick. We already pay too much in property taxes, albeit for a blue ribbon school system, but the notion that we should have to foot the bill for a school that teaches what the public schools already teach is ludicrous and totally unnecessary.
The school board should file suit immediately to stop the charter school in its tracks until a rigorous public debate occurs. We the people pay the taxes. We the people should decide by referendum if the charter school should be allowed to go forward. This charter school should be paid for by the parents of the kids who go there, not by the taxpayers of the town, most of whom will not go there.
In sum, the Princeton International Academy Charter School is a bad idea, especially at this terrible time financially. Before the school should ever see the light of day, we should have a full and open public debate and vote for or against it by referendum. It shouldn’t be shoved down our throats, especially since we’ll be picking up the tab.
Brian Reilly
Benford Drive, Princeton Junction
