<p>I don’t disagree about the cronyism and familial dysfunction that dog some school systems in NJ. It’s the diagnosis of the problem’s origins as some kind of long-term historical outcome related to migration that I disagree with.</p>
<p>Inner city schools have been terrible since 1) white/middle-class flight and 2) the institution of the legal inability to expel students for misbehavior. Not all NJ schools are inner city schools. NJ has really good public schools for the most part. Newark schools don’t represent the norm. As an NJ resident and taxpayer, I am glad that NJ supports its schools. I don’t want to live in a state like Florida with crummy K-12 public schools. I am actually a political conservative, but public schools are one area where I have no problem whatsoever with the state raising revenue and spending it. I want quality teachers and nice facilities. High-quality K-12 public education cannot be had on the cheap. I have relatives who live in Southern states who have to sent their children to private or parochial schools to get the curriculum and services the average middle-class NJ resident takes for granted.</p>