The parents who send their children to private school are taxpayers and they don't use the public schools. Its my understanding this was decided by a court case and the court felt these taxpayers were entitled to have this educational expense covered. Its not up to the general public to decide the issue.

The Public School Districts are not paying for the transportation of the private/parochial school students--the taxpaying parents of those students are. Those parents are also saving the districts thousands of dollars per student by educating their children in non-public schools. Should a poll be taken asking if the parents of non-public students deserve a rebate on their taxes for not using local public education? That would be a better question or at least not as absurd as the one being polled.

Joan, you are RIGHT ON THE MONEY!

Not only should they be footing the bill for school transportation, but every child in a non public school whose parents pay taxes should also be entitled to any other benefits a public school child has such as one on one aides, extra help, technology in the classrooms, etc. I can go on!

$15,000 in property taxes of which most goes to public school budgets. For someone to complain about $877 busing cost is ridiculous! The Asbury Park Press is wrong for printing one side of the story. Is someone sending me a rebate for $14,000? Or is the money being wasted on over inflated school budgets and Abbett School Distrcts???

Millie P.
What would the public school system do if all these children who are getting bussed were in the public school system? Parents do not get a rebate for not using the public school system but yet pay high taxes for schools in their town. Yes, towns should provide bussing if they bus the public school children - all children should be treated equal.

The public schools are not paying for my kids to be bussed I AM! My property taxes are 14k a year. That is on a very modest home. It is the least they can do for what I pay. How about this? I will pay for my kids busing if you refund my 14K back to me. Deal? Ha, I didn't think so.

Given that my tax dollars pay for the education of public school students, at the least private abs parochial busses should be paid for without question! It is a very reasonable expense for the districts since we are paying for public education and not taking advantage of it.

Not only do I pay $14k in property taxes of which most goes to the public school system which I don't use, I don't even get a bus for my child to her parochial school because we are .2 miles short of the cutoff - and I get no rebate of any KIND!!! So, this is such a stupid question - of course public schools should pay for the busing - what do they do with all the taxes paid by parents who don't use their school system????

You all have taken the words right out of my mouth!!! If they want to refund me for my public school education taxes that I pay and don't take advantage of then I would be glad to pay for transportation. If not FORK IT OVER!!!!

We pay school taxes and don't use the system, the least we should get is transportation. The public school children do.

HEY I work 2 full time jobs to send n my children to private school ! I provide their transportation which adds 1 hour to my morning commute. The transportation reimbursement does not even cover my gas expense! How about a tax rebate for sending our kids to private school ??? STOP BREAKING OUR BACKS !

I pay over $22,000 a year in property taxes. The last tax summary I received indicated more than 50% of those taxes going to the public school system. Since I'm paying more than $11,000 to the public schools and not sending my children there, it is not the public schools who are paying for my children's busing to private school - I am paying $11,000 for the busing! Does that sound reasonable? If my kids were in the public school system, they would be bused anyway AND they would be using all the additional resources of the schools.

I couldnt agree more with everyones comments!!!! I pay $14.000 a year in taxes and almost $20,000 in tuition for my children and receive Nothing in return from the public school system other than busing! In addition to that, I have to drive my children several miles to their busstop while the public school children are picked up in front of their homes. They call this courtesy busing??Like they are doing me a big favor! I think we should all enroll our children in the public school system and see the panic that sets in when they realize they suddenly have this huge population of students they hadnt budgeted for!! If the public school parents saw how much their taxes would increase to have to provide an education for our children, the busing costs would certainly seem like a bargain in comparison!

Don't forget, it is largely the public school system, not the private schools, that drives the value of your home. No one told you to move to an affluent area with great public schools and send your kids to private school. So yes, the public schools are paying to bus your kids to private school and that is absurd.

Talk about a bargain....each kids that goes to a private school saves the district $15000!!! Personally I think there should be voucher of 7500(1/2 the cost)-$10,000 per kids to send them to a private school. Our property taxes would sink like a stone. With a voucher people could make a decision where to send their kids...heck good public schools could then even supplement their school extra capacity with surrounding kids! Then the best run school would grow and thrive and the lesser would shrink allowing them to focus resources on the remaining kids and get it right.

Busing isn't an option for my daughter who is attending a non-public school. We live 4 miles from school and need to be at the bus stop at 7:05am for an 8am start time. She isn't even having breakfast at 7:05a let alone be at a bus stop! The money that was paid out to me for driving my kid to school when there was no busing paid for most of her summer camp expenses! Busing doesn't help my family at all!!

Nice try Hedley, but the school systems got their good reputation by the incredible amounts of money funding them from high taxes. The school system did not become great on its own. But nice try at reverse logic.

Hedley, Sophie (and all others of the similar mindset)... the public school system does not pay for busing my child to parochial school. My TAXES do!! Why is that so hard to understand?

But the tax-paying parents provide the funds that enable the public school system to write those checks. Something to ponder.... Have a great day!!

Parents of private school children pay taxes for the public schools with no rebates.
This poll is pointless.
However; I will gladly pay for my own child's busing if you refund the portion of my tax that pays for public schools.
Let's have a poll on that Hank!

The thought of revoking this service is selfish, unjust, greedy and downright unneighborly.

Shame on the miserable souls who believe this to be fair. This valuable service is a right, not to be reserved only for those children who are privileged by attending our public schools.

To equate school taxes to municipal taxes for fire, police and emergency services is just ignorant. God forbid Hedley be given the right to elect out of these emergency services and his/her family/property need them. To bus or provide payment in lieu of transportation is peanuts compared to the thousands and thousands of dollars school districts save in not having to educate my children.

I'm a student and at least I haven't never seen any bullies in my private school life.. you know what i mean,,,

I'm a student and at least I have never seen any bullies in my private school life.. you know what i mean,,,

US News and World Report 2012 NJ state public high school rankings:
Elizabeth, Chatham, Ridge, Princeton......12th place MIllburn. Hedley said "The big difference is that the public schools that you don't use still benefit your property value and the desirability of the town you moved to". Did Hedley put her property on the market yet?

I feel that if we are paying the taxes for school then that money should go towards the funding for where my child goes to school. Meaning if you are sending your child to public then your tax dollars should go towards public, If your child goes to private then your dollars should go towards private. Personally I think it if I pay my taxes and my child isn't going to benefit from it. I want a refund on ALL my tax dollars that goes towards public school. ALL OF IT!!! I am tired of the system getting over.

I realize that sending my children to private school is my choice, and I usually shut up and pay and vote yes for my towns over-inflated and wasteful school budget...but now it is time for someone else to shut up and stop griping about the $850 they pay for busing. My child would be bused to our local public school anyway. How about someone saying "thank you" for paying taxes and not sending your child to the public schools. Let's all go to our local Board of Ed and register our private school children in public school next year. Let's see them gladly give us the $850 !

Since when do we live in a pay as you go/a la carte tax system? If you send your kids to private school (and congratulations to you for being able to afford to do so) why should you be entitled to any rebate of taxes just because you chose to opt out of public schooling? There are loads of municipal and county services that I don't utilize so should I get tax money back for those? Assuming the answer is no, why then, should opting out of public schools be any different?

Agree with Hedley. It's akin to purchasing all your books at Barnes & Noble instead of using the public library. If I decide to buy books instead of borrowing them from a publicly funded source, do I get a refund of my portion of taxes that go toward the Millburn Public LIbrary? And what about the town pool? If I join a country club instead of using the Millburn town pool, do I get a rebate? Then there's the matter of the town day camp. I've always sent my kids to private camps, so maybe I should ask for a refund for my portion of taxes that goes toward funding the Millburn summer camp. And Millburn Recreation ... my kids play on private club teams, like the Millburn Soccer Club. They don't participate in Millburn Rec soccer. I know my taxes are funding Millburn Rec, but I don't use it.

Point is ... all these things -- including public education -- are public goods. Even if you don't use them, they exist for the benefit of the public as a whole. The public funds public schools so that we will have an educated society. And that benefits everyone. That's what you are paying for.

Those whose goal is to have as low a tax bill as possible need to consider buying homes in a different community. You can live in a lower-tax community and still send your children to the same private schools they go to now.