Monroe, if you object to Jersey City getting ?more? funding than suburban schools, then consider this: 1. the suburbs should be doing more to provide public housing to low income families instead of having Cities like JC shoulder the majority of the financial burden - of which such costs bleed over into school costs;
2. Costs associated with education are going to be greater in a City than a suburb, thus equity is measured differently between the two. The state of NJ and it?s suburban dwellers benefit from Jersey City in the form of business/employment, etc. If suburban dwellers want to drive to JC and benefit from the employment opportunities here or benefit with respect to business dealings here in JC (whether it?s through contracts/construction/whatever), then they should stop complaining about the added costs of school funding - they know it?s more expensive here across the board with respect to funding a school in JC and south jersey (just like the cost of real estate is different). They are benefitting financially off the back of jersey city, but complaining about it. They want to see their pockets get filled in Jersey City, while letting the City kids have subpar education because, why not, their kids don?t go to school there. Anyone that works in JC or financially benefits from JC and lives elsewhere has no right to complain. If you want to complain, then move to another state where you don?t have to rely on getting your paycheck from a large mixed income City.

Can?t have your cake and eat it too. It reminds me of all the upstate New Yorkers complaining about nyc schools, while their standard of living is directly a product of the NYC tax engine.

So if you see a sidewalk that needs dire repair, take a picture and simply submit it via the JerseyCity Connect app. It supposedly will be investigated and remediation initiated if the complaint is legit.

That is a huge hike - it must be hard to stomach. However if the 14K was for an entire brownstone, that was seriously undertaxed, as compared to what newbies are paying in downtown. People are currently paying over 14k for 2BR apartments that are nowhere near as grande as a beautiful brownstone.

I do wonder whether it will have an affect on the market, but for people willing and able to pay over 2 mill for a property, perhaps the $$ is less of an issue.

Perhaps when this all settles out, the tax rate may be reduced. Do we have any hope for that? Is it a possibility?

Jerseymom - Before we were enrolled in the school, the score may have concerned me, but through our experience, I realize that my daughter is getting a great education in a wonderful and supportive environment. Everyday, the principal, vice principal and teachers are at the entrance, greeting the kids by name. My daughter is already reading and writing, just halfway through kindergarten, and can do a surprising amount of math. The dual language program is rigorous and every teacher we have encountered so far has been really great. She has a ton of friends both from the neighborhood and within driving distance. They have afterschool programs like yoga, alphaminds, chess, drama, soccer, bambino chef (for a fairly modest cost). I am glad we decided on our public school. So far, it?s working well.

We have been incredibly happy with our zoned school, PS5, in the village section of downtown. When we first were looking at schools, we were thinking private but had heard from neighborhood friends that PS5 was a lovely school. We went for a tour and talked to parents and were pleasantly surprised. We also toured some private schools and they just didn?t blow us away. We have found a great community at PS5 and are glad that we kept our mind open to public school. My firstborn is in kindergarten now and is already reading and doing great with math. She is in the dual language program. Our youngest will start PRe-K 3 next year.