Older Middletown Residents: We Can't Afford 10 Percent Tax Hike To Keep Schools Open

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — At the first Middletown schools public budget hearing Wednesday night, several older town residents said they cannot afford a proposal to raise school property taxes an additional 5.2 percent (for a total 10.1 percent increase), which would likely keep schools open.

"I've been here for 30 years," said one man, 83, who plays pinochle with other seniors at Croydon Hall. "My Social Security and my pension pays for my mortgage. And the taxes. And then my wife tells me it's going up 10 percent. Gas went up 10 percent. Electricity going up ... she knows the numbers better than me, I get sick."

"I earn $40,000 a year," he continued. "That's my pension. You have to earn over $150,000 to live in this town. Otherwise you're in the poverty level. I'm all for supporting the students and the schools. But ...," he paused. "You have to think of your mothers, your fathers, your grandparents. They brought you into this world. It's getting to the point where I can't live here anymore."

Another woman said she had children who graduated from Middletown schools years ago. Her children are now adults and one of them lives in Middletown.

"I am on a fixed income," she said. "I don't want to hurt the children, but we have to understand there are a lot of retired people in this town too, who have been here for years."

But she also berated the board for, as she said, allowing Middletown schools' budget crisis to get so bad that the idea of closing schools needs to be floated.

"Who planned for this rainy day?" she asked, to claps from the audience. "It can't be brought up on us when we have a month ... We need accountability. Please do the right thing for the kids and the retired people. There has got to be a middle-of-the-road answer to this."

One woman who spoke at the 2:05:50 minute is a tax appraiser in Middletown. She warned people will lose their homes if property taxes keep increasing.

She said 300 people in Middletown are appealing their taxes this year, "more than another township in Monmouth County. We also have 16 schools, which is two more than Howell at 14 schools ... And I guarantee that 10 of those people will probably be losing their homes soon ... People just can't afford another 10 percent on the taxes. It's just not tenable. Children need a good education, but they also need a roof over their heads."

But people then booed and shouted at her when she said:

"We have to cut back on something. This is reality. The numbers have to work out, and they don't. There are lots of different kinds of people here; not everyone makes 150 grand —" She then stopped talking and handed the microphone over to parents.

Senior citizens were far outnumbered by parents who attended the meeting, and implored the district to keep the schools open. It mostly seemed to be parents of children who go to Leonardo and Navesink, the two elementary schools proposed to be closed.

Parents said the board's proposal to close schools was going to cause a mental health crisis in Middletown children. Parents are concerned about class sizes, education standards, that Bayshore Middle School was not designed for kindergartners, declining property values and the character of their neighborhoods — all with no guarantee the district will save money in the long run.

One Navesink dad said Wednesday night he wanted to address the concerns of older people who don't have kids in the schools:

"Property values depend on these schools being open," said the father, Dennis Doyle. "All the people on fixed incomes have a value (of their homes) that has gone up significantly over the lifetime of that home. That will be immediately negatively impacted by an action that can't be undone."

Middletown superintendent Jessica Alfone opened Wednesday's budget forum by apologizing for "creating a reaction" when she unveiled a surprise school closure plan last week to close three schools (Leonardo, Navesink and Bayshore Middle School) to solve a $10-million budget deficit.

Watch the Wednesday night public meeting here:

Middletown Could Raise Taxes 10 Percent To Keep 3 Schools Open

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