This past January the Verona Town Council unanimously approved a resolution to support Senate President Steve Sweeney’s so-called Path to Progress. I only discovered this while researching this legislation that would take labor issues out of the hands of public workers and legislate changes in health care and pensions from Trenton. Such changes include transitioning the state’s public workers (with the exception of police and firefighters) from the state-funded pension system to a 401(k) type program, consolidating school districts that send students to regional high schools, and eliminating census-based funding of special education. There are many more proposals and I encourage readers to investigate them.

I find it curious that Verona’s resolution begins “WHEREAS, for two decades, while county and municipal governments made the proper pension payments, New Jersey governors from both parties severely underfunded the pension system for teachers and State government workers…” and comes to the conclusion that continuing to penalize public workers for the sins of Christie Whitman and all subsequent New Jersey governors will improve New Jersey’s bond rating. One might argue that the Town Council’s resolution is merely a toothless endorsement that carries no political heft, but if that is true, why pass such a resolution? Why make sure the town is listed on http://pathtoprogressnj.org/taking-action/? And why pass a boilerplate resolution with little change in text from what is offered on the Path to Progress public relations website?

I encourage residents to look into Sweeney’s proposed legislation and decide whether you want to see Trenton decide how schools should be run. If your town has passed such a resolution, I encourage you to ask council members what they hope to accomplish by adopting it.