You Shouldn't Have to Win the Lottery to Go to Preschool!

In my high school classes, we usually talk about taxes as a kind of trade. The government—national, state, and local—takes money from each of us, pools it together, and provides society with services. The more the government takes, the more it's supposed to give back.

In New Jersey, our taxes are endless. We're taxed for gasoline and taxed for owning an electric car; we're taxed for driving on our highways and taxed for using public transportation. But if our taxes are endless—if we're paying the highest property taxes in the country—shouldn't our services be substantial? Comprehensive? High-quality?

In my conversations with voters across our district, people describe how tired they are of getting the short end of the stick. They're tired of paying the town, the county, the state, and Washington—and then being forced to write a check for preschool tuition. Their frustration isn't unreasonable - a handful of states across the country have already made universal pre-K a reality without charging their residents $15,000 a year in property taxes.

The State's failure to provide universal pre-K has real consequences for our communities. Take West Orange, for example: a family could pay $15,000 in property taxes before finding out they didn’t win the town preschool lottery. That family will now need to find another $10,000 for preschool or shell out thousands for childcare—all while paying up to 10% in state income tax. For some families, this means serious cutbacks; for others, a second or third job.

That’s a bad trade.

Now, as costs are rising and families are cutting back, it’s never been more important that the state uphold its end of the bargain and guarantee universal pre-K for every child in every community.

After all, you shouldn't have to win the lottery to go to preschool!