[Insert Date]
[Insert Name and Address of Legislator]
Re: Urging the Legislature to Act Immediately and Support Proposed Senate Bill No. 2307
Dear [Insert Senator/Assemblyman] [Insert Last Name of Legislator]:
I am writing to urge the state Legislature to act immediately and support proposed Senate Bill No. 2307. Over the past several years, the Monroe Township Board of Education (“Board”) has not received its fair share of state aid funding. The attached chart utilizes data from the New Jersey Department of Education and illustrates state aid for the 2011-2012 school year, which is the most recent year available. This chart highlights the significant disparity in state aid received by the Board as compared to other school districts in Middlesex County.
Passage of proposed Senate Bill No. 2307 would eliminate the state aid growth limit for Monroe Township School District, a school district in which more than 33.3 percent of the residents are 65 years old or older according to the most recent federal decennial census. The elimination of the state aid growth limit would provide much needed property tax relief to our senior community, the group in our community who is most negatively impacted as a result of the disparity in state aid. According to the attached chart, the Board is one of three school districts that do not receive any equalization aid. Passage of proposed Senate Bill No. 2307 would be a big step toward correcting the state funding disparity in the Monroe Township School District.
As my representative, I am asking you to please support the passage of Senate Bill No. 2307. As noted above, once enacted, this legislation will result in property tax relief, which is essential to the citizens of Monroe Township. Our struggling senior population is suffering with extraordinarily high local property taxes as a result of the state aid disparity discussed above. Passage of this bill will ease this burden by providing an additional 6.9 million dollars to the Monroe Township School District.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue. The citizens of Monroe Township need immediate action on proposed Senate Bill No. 2307.
Sincerely,
[Insert Your Name, Address and Telephone Number]