Diversity is the foundation of New Jersey. With a vibrant ethnic, cultural, and religious community to call home, New Jersey offers some of the best food, music, festivals, and art right here in our backyard.
Furthermore, this diversity serves to create a strong educational ecosystem of both public and non-public schools, providing families and communities of different faiths and backgrounds with the ability to receive education that meets their needs. We offer choices.
As leaders in New Jersey's diverse communities, this system is especially important to us. Representing New Jersey's Muslim, Christian, Catholic, and Jewish communities, we often provide high-quality non-profit schools where our families seek to educate their children in faith-based environments. We know that we rely not only on public school options, but also on strong public schools.
Such an educational menu is beneficial not only to families but also to the school system as a whole. Public school systems are often in high demand, so non-public schools can help free up resources and seats. Additionally, non-public school parents contribute to public school funding by paying state and local taxes without sitting at the table. When non-public and public schools work together, our education system and our children thrive.
However, in recent years, rising costs and budget cuts have put a strain on many schools, which in turn puts stress on families and communities. We've seen this with the more than 150 non-public schools that have closed in New Jersey over the past decade, and the millions of dollars currently being spent on the state's public schools.
New Jersey's school funding formula is used to determine the amount of state aid a school district is eligible for. But this year, more than 100 districts face cuts in state funding under a new proposal.
The stakes here are high for the state and for our families. Unless we find a better way to support all schools consistently, school cuts and closures will result in job losses, billions of dollars of economic output provided by nonpublic schools, and most importantly, , New Jersey's education ecosystem is at risk of becoming less diverse.
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Thankfully, steps are already being taken, with legislation currently being introduced to help alleviate this problem in public schools. When these bills come up for a vote later this month, it is hoped that the combination of these bills will cover the cuts that public schools are currently facing.
We need New Jersey schools to reflect our promise of diversity, serve all families, and support all children. With the passage of these bills, we are one step closer to securing that future. It is essential that we strengthen our educational community, a network of public and non-public schools, so that all children, regardless of their background or unique educational needs, can thrive.
Sufia Azmat is the Executive Director of the Council of Islamic Schools of North America.Rabbi Pinchas Shapiro is executive vice president of the Jewish Education Center of Elizabeth.Jameka Walker is the Executive Director of Catholic Partnership School in Camden..
