I would ask Speaker Oliver and the rest of Trenton’s legislators to remember that in just a few weeks, thousands of New Jersey children will step onto a bus for the first time, beginning their kindergarten or first grade experience in our public education system. In many of our inner city districts, that step will herald the beginning of a forced march through a failed monopoly — a path of doom from which their parents are powerless to exit. One can debate whether 47 percent or 54 percent of them will emerge without the tools to prepare them for higher education, but whatever it is, the number is more than a compassionate society should bear. The tragedy of this reality is it targets our most vulnerable fellow citizens — the inner-city families without the resources to move out of their school districts or choose schools more suited to their child’s educational needs.

Norm Alworth, President of E3, urges the passage of the Opportunity Scholarship Act, the voucher bill, in today’s NJ Spotlight.