Should your local public school have to pay for charter and county vocational school sports programs?
The New Jersey Legislature is about to vote on legislation that would do just that!
Assembly Bill 3421/Senate Bill 3043 require public school districts to allow students attending charter or county vocational schools, or being home schooled, to play on the local public school sports teams, if the charter and county vocational schools do not offer those sports.
However, this legislation does not require charter or county vocational schools to contribute to the cost of their students participating in the local public school sports programs, even though New Jersey public schools are dealing with severe, multi-year funding cuts from the State.
This legislation also does not give local public school students the same opportunity to play sports, or take part in any other extra curricular activities, at charter or vocational schools.
This legislation actually creates an incentive for charter and county vocational schools not to fund their own sports programs, instead encouraging their students to play on the local public school teams.
Charter schools and county vocational schools are taxpayer funded. In fact, vocational schools areamong the highest funded schools in New Jersey. Public school districts also pay to transport students to charter and county vocational schools, at significant cost. Why must local public schools be forced to bear the cost of these schools’ sports programs as well?
Public school districts already have the option to allow any child who lives within the school district to play on a local public school sports team, but this legislation would FORCE school districts to do so, taking away their ability to determine what is best for their students.
Please ask the Legislature not to force this requirement on our local public schools.
