To the Editor:

For 20 years, Princeton taxpayers have been forced to pay for the Princeton Charter School, an unnecessary, boutique program that was not developed or approved by the voters of Princeton and that has drained funds from the work of our public schools year after year.

There is no need for the Princeton Charter School. Our children have been well educated by the excellent, actual public schools of Princeton and their hardworking educators. Parents who want an alternative can choose from the many fine private schools in the area and pay extra for them. However, the Princeton Charter School has been created by the state as an exception. Princeton voters have never approved its existence. It is really a private school operating with public funds. We are taxed for this program without our approval. It is a financial drain on the Princeton community. As the Princeton School Board president says, the funding for the Princeton Charter School “comes straight off the top of our budget each year.” We are talking about millions of dollars!

Now the Princeton Charter School has applied to the New Jersey Department of Education for an expansion that would drain even more funds from Princeton Public Schools and, in the words of Superintendent Steve Cochrane, “compromise the quality of our children’s education.” The timing is particularly upsetting, as the superintendent and the School Board are planning for an expected and expensive influx of students in the coming years.

We call on our elected representatives to bring the matter to a vote. The voters of Princeton should have an opportunity to decide whether or not to support the Princeton Charter School. We need to publicize the unfairness of being asked to support a school which is not under the jurisdiction of our elected School Board, a school which depletes the resources needed for our public school system. We need to support the work of Superintendent Cochrane, the elected Princeton School Board, and the work of our public school teaching staff, and refuse to be taxed for any other educational program.

Francesca Benson, George Cody, Roz Goldberg

Bainbridge Street

Beatrice Cohen

Pine Street

Shirley Dwork

Phillip Drive

Ruth Randall

Gulick Road