The New Jersey Education Association is urging the state to address a crisis within its 2% property tax cap, which is causing school buildings to close, specialized services for our most vulnerable students to be eliminated and teachers to lose their jobs. The cap, designed in a different era, has become a straitjacket slowly suffocating our schools. While a district's ability to raise revenue is frozen at 2%, the costs of running a school have increased. Transportation costs, health benefits, and staff have also seen annual spikes of 15% to 30%. Inflation levels have reached levels not seen since 1981. The choice is between maintaining the "New Jersey Advantage" and avoiding further cuts to services, fees, programs, and lower taxes. As school quality deteriorates, as school quality increases, businesses will find talent elsewhere and as New Jersey's economic draw erodes.