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OPINIONS & COMMENTARY Letters To The Editor

for proposing that the State of New Jersey fund private school transportation.

I believe that with the rise in private schools and the number of students attending them the expense of transpor-

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The Howell Times welcomes all points of view for publication and provides this page as an open forum for residents to express themselves regarding politics, government, current events and local concerns.

All letters are printed as space allows unless deemed offensive by the editorial staff, and provided they are signed and include address & phone number for veri�ication. Letters may not be printed if we cannot verify them. Names will not be withheld from publication. While most letters are printed as submitted, we reserve the right to tation will be very costly to not only the Jackson public school district, but will also be a burden on the taxpayers. This archaic state mandate (NJSA18A:39-1) which mandates public school districts must provide transportation for students attending private schools does not take into consideration the number of students attending these schools. A prime example is the consistent failure of the Lakewood public school district budget. The money taken from the public school budget for private school transportation impacts the education of the students attending the public schools and our taxes.

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I suggest that the residents of Jackson Township support Assemblyman Alex Sauicke’s Bill (A4461) that would allow Jackson, Howell, Toms River, Brick and Manchester school districts to form a three-year, nonpublic student transportation pilot program to tackle escalating busing costs with state funds.

I also suggest Jackson Township Town Council and the surrounding town councils (Toms River, Howell, Brick and Manchester) petition the state of N.J. to fully fund transportation and special needs services for private schools. This State funding will not only ease the burden on taxpayers, but may also lower the number of private schools approved and built in each town. The state takes in millions from sports betting and now from taxes on the sale of legal recreational cannabis. This cost of private and creates damage by the heavy vehicles. We all hear a train that intersects Victory and travels several times a week, which will create traffic issues when trucks have to stop. But mostly, we have residents who love the area, love the country atmosphere and are willing to fight to stop this warehouse from moving forward.

The weather’s turning nice….take a ride down into Burlington County or Rt. 537 near Great Adventure, and see how the Garden State is turning into Warehouse Central. We are so sorry to know of the other approved warehouses such as the ones on Fairfield Road or Randolph Road. Not one resident wanted them! It’s time for the powers that be in Howell take notice and help the residents retain our rurality and quality of life.

Diane Lindstrom Howell

school transportation should not be the burden of the public school districts and the taxpayers.

Frank Resola Jackson

Why Build Up Downtown Toms River?

At a recent Township Council meeting, a gentleman said that the public was never given the chance to talk about what they want to see in the downtown area. He is right, because if the public was asked, they definitely would not have said “two big apartment towers.”

The mayor and council made this decision for us.

They think that this will bring new business to the downtown area. But why would that matter to the rest of us? There’s maybe 10 very rich property owners in downtown Toms River that will be made richer by this. That’s the reason the mayor and council is doing this. They want to help their rich friends. It won’t affect the rest of us one bit.

If these huge apartment towers get built, the town’s school district will swell with kids. It will raise our school taxes during a time when the school is losing state aid because of bad decisions in Trenton.

Tell the mayor and council that the millionaires who own downtown Toms River are not more important than the rest of us.

Carly Smith Toms River

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