No thanks, Assemblyman

Could there be a worse time for Assemblyman John Burzichelli's recent legislative push? With school districts across the state and the taxpayers who support them tapped out amid declining aid from Trenton, Burzichelli seeks to compel districts to absorb even more of the costs of extracurricular activities by outlawing activity fees.

Not only is this legislation poorly timed, but it is also unjustified. Burzichelli's rationale for further limiting schools' flexibility in managing their finances is presented in today's Record:

"In my mind, public education is not a thing that should have user fees attached to it," Burzichelli said. "Any time you create a law where someone may not be able to afford to participate, a child may have less of an education than the person next to them, based on ability to pay."

We're not talking about supplemental fees for English class here. One can get a solid high school education even without playing junior varsity field hockey. However, by denying schools the right to charge parents and students for extracurricular activities, Burzichelli is not leveling the playing field so much as he is closing it entirely. Activity fees are charged in order to expand schools' ability to offer certain peripheral activities for interested students. If Burzichelli is upset by the fact that certain individuals find these fees onerous, he might direct his energies toward finding private sponsors for these supplementary programs instead of telling schools and taxpayers that they must either eat all of the costs or lose the programs entirely.

No need for bake sales or carwashes, it has to be free or it has got to go