Guest Column
Gregory M. Cinque
Millstone resident: Start over with a clean slate

(An open letter to Gov. James McGreevey, State Sen. John Bennett, Assemblyman Michael Arnone, and Assemblywoman Clare Farragher)

Millstone Township, nestled in western Mon-mouth County, has been experiencing significant growth during the past 15 years, as farmers have been selling out to developers and the beauty of the township has been discovered by those families fleeing more dense areas of New Jersey and New York.

I won’t go into the details concerning the inability of local communities to preserve and protect their character through zoning due to constraints imposed by state laws, liberal state courts, etc. That is a subject for another letter.

A consequence of Millstone’s growth is the pressure on the public school system — we have a kindergarten enrollment of 200 this September. Previous years have averaged 120 to 150 per year. State aid per pupil has not kept pace with this growth in population because we are considered affluent.

Our community is for the most part comprised of two-income professional career spouses working hard to provide for their children, incurring high costs such as child care, and juggling tight weekend schedules in order to take part in extracurricular family activity. I do not call this affluent. I call it breadbasket Middle America.

The state formula that penalizes communities like Millstone is criminal in my opinion. We pay the bulk of income taxes and property taxes, and receive the least in return.

Now, of course, Millstone is faced with the need for a school expansion for two reasons. The first is the growth in enrollment. The second is the legislative mandate that redefined the square footage per pupil of new and existing school buildings.

The inclusion of existing buildings that were acceptable when originally built is an example of construction industry special-interest influence on the Legislature and legislative meddling as to what conditions yield a quality education.

The Legislature in its flawed wisdom provides that the state will pay for 40 percent of the capital costs for the expansion of existing buildings. This is not true. The state will only pay the 40 percent for the items it approves, such as classrooms. Other parts of a school building that may have to be increased, such as core facilities, may not be covered.

Millstone has a plan up for voter approval for the expansion of its existing middle and elementary schools for which it is expected to be compensated 33 percent and 40 percent, respectively. This is OK, but here comes the state kicker.

In many cases, existing facilities cannot be realistically expanded to accommodate the new state mandate of square footage per pupil or for increased school population. For example, the property on which a school is situated may not be large enough or the architecture of the building does not allow for practical expansion.

This necessitates, as in the case of Millstone, the need for construction of a new school facility. Millstone’s project cost for its new building is estimated at $41.3 million It is estimated that the state will only compensate the township for 12 percent of the total projected cost.The determination of the compensation to meet the legislative mandate in the case of a new building is as complicated as filing a health claim form. and it is nowhere near 40 percent. In my view, the situation described herein points out the fiscal fraud perpetrated on the residents of New Jersey by the New Jersey state government.

Our country was founded as a result of a revolt against unfair taxation. We need a new revolt and a regime change at all levels of state government — the governor and all incumbents in the Assembly and the Senate.

I, for one, cannot tell who is guilty and who is innocent. They all blame the other guy. What I do know it that the governor’s office is mired in patronage and pay-to-play schemes. The Legislature is mired in special interests and pork-barrel schemes. I say vote you all out of office at the next opportunity and clean up our state statutes.

I hope that this letter energizes the voters of New Jersey. We have been apathetic for too long a time.

Gregory M. Cinque is a resident of Millstone