The majority Republican Congress delivered the president his tax bill, which is historic for the harm it will cause. While the president celebrated signing this bill on July 4, NJEA officers are providing a reality check of how this legislation will hurt New Jersey students, schools, and communities.
“This is bill is nothing more than an enormous tax break for wealthy Americans who already pay far less than their fair share and is being paid for on the backs of hard-working Americans who are already struggling to make ends meet,” said NJEA President Sean Spiller. “As educators we see in this bill direct and immediate threats to our students and public schools. The tax breaks for the wealthy are being funded in part by massive cuts to Medicaid, which provides millions of dollars to support student services and health care in our schools. Restrictions to SNAP will make it harder for students to qualify for free and reduced-priced lunch. These cuts are cruel and will cause real harm in our schools.”
“As if these cuts aren’t harmful enough, buried in this ugly bill is the creation of a national tax-credit voucher program to divert public dollars to support private schools,” added Vice President Steve Beatty. “We’ve seen tax-credit schemes in other states divert money away from public education, making it even harder to provide the resources that all students deserve. We must ensure that New Jersey does not opt into this latest attempt to undermine our great public schools. The attack on education extends to higher education as well, with new restrictions and limits on Pell Grants, which have provided critical support to students struggling to afford college.”
“This fundamental realignment of priorities, making the rich even richer, is an affront to who we are as educators and union members,” said Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson. “Beyond threatening the health and welfare of millions of students through cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, deep cuts to U.S. Department of Education funding will further limit vital programs such as Title I and IDEA. The harm will affect all students, as schools are forced to divert resources to compensate for the loss of federal funds. Our schools will face immense financial pressure and difficult choices until we reverse this destructive Trump initiative.”
NJEA officers agree that while this bill is a direct threat to our values and our priorities, the union will not back down from this fight. They emphasize, “We have always led the charge to advocate for our students, our schools, our profession and our communities. Our members wake up every morning ready to educate and protect our students and work with parents and community members to advocate for what they deserve. This is a challenge on a new scale, but our union is ready to step up and fight for New Jersey’s public schools.”