Monthly Archives: February 2019

When you think of the word “school” what comes to mind? Overcrowding? Leaking roofs, mold and mercury exposure? Extreme temperatures, windows that don’t open? Inadequate air quality from poor ventilation? How about asbestos, lead in drinking water, or rodent infestations? Unfortunately, for many students and staff in New Jersey, these issues are a daily reality. As a result, there is increased absenteeism, illness, and poor morale. The good news is that New Jersey already has a framework in place to fix these problems. The bad news is that the SDA is out of money. It has not received any new funding since 2008, and all prior funding has been used or is already allocated. This means that there are zero funds available for any new major capital projects in SDA or ROD districts despite the tremendous need that remains. Read the full opinion-editorial by Heather Sorge, WEC campaign organizer for Healthy Schools Now and Rosie Grant, executive director of Paterson Education Fund.

It has been more than a year since the Christie administration ended, but it turns out it left one last surprise for New Jersey’s workers and taxpayers, according to an audit released by the New Jersey State Comptroller last month. The report suggests that, under former Gov. Chris Christie, the Economic Development Authority (EDA) gave away billions of dollars in tax credits to some of the most profitable corporations in the world through an $11-billion dollar series of tax-subsidy programs. The comptroller’s report, however, found a severe lack of oversight. Corporations were, in most situations, allowed to self-report, and often manipulated or obscured details in order to inflate their contributions to our economy: “In 24 of the 37 sampled projects, about 65%, we found close to 3,000 recipient-reported jobs that were not substantiated as having been created or retained.” It is estimated that one in five jobs were not substantiated. Read the full opinion-editorial by Brandon Castro, WEC campaign organizer for Runaway Inequality.