Dear Pastors and Principals,
As you may know, the Catholic Church in New Jersey runs nearly 200 Catholic schools, which educate more than 60,000 students. To operate safely and efficiently, we rely in part on state aid, same as public schools. While we are grateful for any funding we receive as part of the state’s annual budget, there is one area in particular – nursing services – where funding has not kept pace with soaring costs, creating concern for our children to Catholic schools.
The New Jersey Catholic Conference (NJCC), which is the public policy arm of the Catholic Church, along with me and my brother Bishops, has been advocating to our Legislature for an increase in the appropriation for nonpublic school nursing services. To further enhance these efforts, I am writing to you with a special request.
NJCC recently published an Action Alert urging the Legislator to increase funding in this especially important area. You can view the alert by visiting www.njcatholic.org and clicking on the “Faith in Action” box.
I am asking for your assistance in asking our people to reach out to their state representatives. The process of doing so is simple. NJCC has prepared a flyer that includes a QR that directly access the alert. Once at the NJCC website, the individual can complete the process with a few clicks of a button. The entire process takes less than a few minutes. Feel free to share the NJCC Flyer with your community.
With your help, our voices become even stronger and together we can help increase critical funding for our schools so families who wish can continue giving their children the kind of religious education that only a Catholic school can provide.
Thank you in advance for your help, and please be assured of my prayers for you and your families.
With renewed best wishes, I remain
Yours in Christ,
Most Reverend James F. Checchio, JCD, MBA
Bishop of Metuchen