Brigid D'Souza

Let’s get civic, Montclair!

January 11, 2022January 11, 2022Brigid D'SouzaMontclair, NJ UFB-In Context, Property Taxes

I’m excited to share that I’m currently working with a team of civic advocates in Montclair to help grow awareness around NJ’s User Friendly Municipal Budget. On January 26th at 7pm, we’ll be doing a quick but intense dive into Montclair’s local finance, with a teaching about how to navigate the NJ User Friendly...

Outgoing 2021 Jersey City Board of Education misses mark on showing budgeted investment for mental health services for students; new BOE should aim higher

December 18, 2021December 24, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools

On Thursday, December 16th, the Board of Education held its final regular meeting of the 2021 calendar year and while many speakers had signed up to speak about mental health services in our schools, and many also sent emails (including those sent from this call to action), the Board of Education did not address...

JCPS Mental Health – 2021 Call to Action

December 15, 2021December 18, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools

I have written this post with the help and input of Jessica Taube and Divya Dodhia, who are both parents, mental health professionals, and school advocates. The three of us are members of Jersey City Together's Education Team. We came together through our advocacy work and put this page together as a resource for...

Jersey City Public Schools Urgently Need Counselors for Our Kids

November 29, 2021December 4, 2021Brigid D'SouzaPublic Schools

Update: the BOE did not speak in public to the issue of mental health counselors at the Nov 29th BOE meeting but they did take up an issue around teacher pay which you can read about here. The post below summarizes an issue that is ongoing and merits public attention and advocacy. There is...

Jersey City Public Schools Staffing Shortage: A data-driven view from Board Docs

November 7, 2021November 9, 2021Brigid D'SouzaData Visualizations, Jersey City City Budget

Jersey City is experiencing a staffing shortage in its public schools. While this is part of a nationwide trend, local attention and solutions are needed particularly as we experience our first fully funded budget in over a decade. In this post, I am sharing data I compiled in later October from JCPS “Public Board Docs.” I...

Jersey City’s 2021 Municipal Budget — A postscript…and some closing notes around transparency & process improvement

September 27, 2021September 27, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context

This is a quick update to my 2021 municipal budget series which I wrote this summer based on the budget introduced in June 2021. On August 31st 2021, the city council approved the budget in its final form with some changes. I wanted to briefly summarize those changes and also close the series with...

Improving accountability and transparency for Jersey City Public Schools

September 25, 2021September 26, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools

In 2021 Jersey City Public Schools fully funded its schools for the first time in over a decade. Reasonable questions now follow related to transparency and accountability, including: How do we hold the district administration and school board accountable for full investment in our kids? I’m part of a team with Jersey City Together...

Jersey City 2021 Budget: A focus on expense (including: structural expense is up $13 million this year)

August 3, 2021August 6, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City 2021 Budget, Jersey City City Budget

This is part of a series on the 2021 city budget. The spirit of this series is: I’m interested in unpacking the budget and sharing as I go. In that same spirit, I’m sharing interactive Tableau data visualizations that help others dig into the budget. See the full series here. The 2021 budget documents are online here. ...

Jersey City 2021 Budget: A focus on revenues (including how the city is achieving a property tax cut)

August 2, 2021August 3, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City 2021 Budget, Jersey City City Budget

Jersey City 2021 Budget: 160 abatements on city’s books; visualizations on abatement type, value, PILOTs, and taxes if billed in full

July 26, 2021July 27, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City 2021 Budget, Jersey City City Budget, Tax Abatements

Jersey City 2021 Budget: Dig into budget using keyword search

July 8, 2021July 9, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, NJ UFB - Series, NJ UFB-In Context

This is part of a series on the 2021 city budget. See the full series here. The 2021 budget documents are online here. In this post I want to look at the proposed 2021 Jersey City budget using three questions as a launch point: How is the budget broken down? Has the budget ever...

In one chart: Jersey City’s seismic change in tax levies fully funds the schools and reallocates property tax

June 30, 2021July 1, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, Jersey City School Funding Crisis

A "levy" is the amount raised in property tax to fund a government budget. Typically, a levy is one of multiple sources of revenue that fund total expense. In 2021, Jersey City is poised to both fully fund its schools and also enter a new paradigm with respect to property tax. Let's review what's...

Transparency & Better Communications Needed for Jersey City Public Schools

June 28, 2021June 28, 2021Brigid D'SouzaUncategorized

The Board of Education (BOE) nearly shut down “remote” public comment last week and it’s worth explaining what happened, simply to highlight how important it is for the district and board to improve transparency and communication – both internally but also with the public. “Remote” public comment is calling into a public meeting and...

Initial thoughts on Jersey City’s Municipal 2021 Budget Press Release

June 12, 2021June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget

Yesterday, Jersey City taxpayers received initial news that the 2021 municipal budget would “cut taxes for Jersey City residents by an average reduction of $967 a year for every household.” The city’s press release is here, currently the only primary information we have (the actual budget file – typically 50+ pages and loaded onto...

Garden State Property Tax Viewer – Rates, Levies, Bases – for 2020

May 4, 2021May 19, 2021Brigid D'SouzaProperty Tax Rates

How does my town's tax rate compare to the state average? Where does most of my property tax go - the city, the county, or the schools? How much is my town's taxable real estate ("ratables") worth? These are all reasonable questions and each year, the state publishes data that can answer them. I'm...

NJ’s “Cost Per Pupil” is a flawed comparison of school district cost.

April 26, 2021May 2, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools

On its face, the NJ Department of Education's "cost-per-pupil" is an inviting metric upon which to compare and contrast school spending among New Jersey's 600+ districts. However, cost-per-pupil is misleading as it distorts the intentional, extra investment for students with more needs, including at-risk students and students with limited English proficiency. Specifically, the intentionally...

The Board of Education Should Approve Superintendent Walker’s Schools Budget & Fully Fund Our Schools

March 17, 2021March 17, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools

Superintendent Walker proposed a fully funded budget on Monday, March 15th, a monumental step forward in Jersey City’s efforts to climb out of a gaping funding hole. The Board of Education should approve this budget. Our children are currently underfunded and the BOE is being presented with a plan to start to meaningfully fix...

CivicParent NJ Property Tax Viewer: 2020 Levies

March 16, 2021June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, Jersey City School Funding Crisis, Property Taxes, Public Schools

The 2020 property tax tables for calendar year 2020 are now available. This data provides insight into the way municipal, county, and local public school governments share the total tax dollars each year. The dataset at the link contains: Tax base data Tax levy data – this is what I’ve visualized below Tax rate...

Property Revaluation 701: Property Tax Appeal Math…Are You Over-Assessed? A Tax Math Explainer

February 12, 2021May 19, 2021Brigid D'SouzaProperty Revaluation Series

This post is meant to help a taxpayer get a jump-start on determining: is my property over-assessed? This post is not intended to cover all nuance that may arise for a particular taxpayer. Nuance abounds, which is why I’ve provided links to the state rules and public data. If you are a homeowner than...

JCPS: How does the schools budget process work?

February 5, 2021February 5, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools

Update, Feb 5, 2021: I’m re-upping this post from 2020 to share with anyone who’s interested in the upcoming schools budgeting process in 2021. The annual public schools budgeting process is fairly regimented due in part to milestone dates that live in state law. A timeline of key dates from last year’s budgeting process...

Jersey City Schools Parent Advocacy Update: Connect with Jersey City Together

January 29, 2021January 30, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis

COVID19 remote learning is extremely challenging. It's important to note that some challenges are exacerbated by chronic underfunding of Jersey City Public Schools. For instance, our schools lack: social workers crisis intervention teachers psychologists math & literacy coaches Teachers, paras, and remaining staff are left to absorb much of this work in addition to...

Abatements 801: We need better abatement disclosures in NJ to show impact on public schools

December 11, 2020May 19, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, NJ UFB-In Context, Public Schools, Tax Abatement Series

This is post included in both my abatement series and a series about the User Friendly Budget in NJ. We need better disclosures in NJ to understand the impact of tax abatements on the local fiscal landscape, particularly as it relates to public schools. The user friendly budget – mandated by the state starting...

Abatements 701 & The “User Friendly Budget”, part 5 – Abatements (with a Jersey City Focus)

December 3, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, NJ UFB - Series, Tax Abatement Series

Note: the visualizations below are best viewed on a computer or tablet (vs a phone). Jersey City recently announced it was terminating an abatement on four buildings within the Beacon complex. The reason: “ownership defaulted on an obligation to retain and present employee records, city officials announced.” This is a good reminder that abatements...

CivicParent NJ Property Tax Viewer – 2019 Levies

November 2, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, Jersey City School Funding Crisis, Property Tax Rates, Public Schools

Last month (October 2020) the state published the 2019 property tax tables. This is a “look back” at the local property tax landscape in New Jersey. It’s a wonderful treasure trove of public data from municipal, county, and local public school governments including: Tax base data Tax levy data Tax rate data Property appeals...

Open Letter/Comments to Mayor Fulop & City Council: What is being done to pressure-test the need for another citywide revaluation?

October 7, 2020November 8, 2020Brigid D'SouzaProperty Revaluation

Sharing an open letter and thoughts that I read into the record at the City Council meeting on Oct 7, 2020. I’m publishing it on CivicParent as part of a new area of content related to Jersey City’s increasingly outdated assessed values and the growing need for another revaluation. The last revaluation was in...

Thoughts on Jersey City’s 2020 Board of Education (BOE) Election

September 28, 2020September 28, 2020Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis

I’ve been getting asked about my thoughts re: the Board of Education election. I wanted to offer two insights that matter to me from a funding and advocacy perspective. Take it or leave it; every vote is sacrosanct and reflects myriad personal considerations. These are two factors that matter most to me and I'm...

Safely Reopening Our Schools in NJ: Understanding the Constraints of Fragmentation in the Garden State

July 22, 2020July 22, 2020Brigid D'SouzaPublic Schools

I have been trying to learn about the practical implications of reopening our schools in the fall. The stakes are profoundly important and the landscape is fraught with complexity and uncertainty, making this both a bumpy but extremely important learning curve. Much of what I've learned has been from Jersey City Together: from and...

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4b: Public Health & Public Safety (with Focus on Police) Spending in the Garden State

July 1, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, NJ UFB - Series

This is a post in a series about NJ's User Friendly Budget. My intent is to share basic analysis and insights with community as a way to encourage taxpayers to engage with this document and learn more about local public finance. Read the other posts in this series here including how to access your town's UFB and...

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 4a: View Your Town’s Structural Spending with the “UFB-3 Appropriations Summary” Data

June 23, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaData Visualizations, Jersey City City Budget, NJ UFB - Series

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 3: the “Cover Page”, an Inventory of NJ’s 565 Municipalities, & An Overview of How UFB Data was Compiled

June 22, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaData Visualizations, Jersey City City Budget, NJ UFB - Series

This is a post in a series about NJ’s User Friendly Budget. My intent is to share basic analysis and insights with community as a way to encourage taxpayers to engage with this document and learn more about local public finance. Read the other posts in this series here including how to access your town’s...

Open Letter re: Police Reform to the Mayor, City Council, Chief of Police and Public Safety Director

June 16, 2020October 23, 2020Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy

A Call to Action in Jersey City: Tell Mayor Fulop, the City Council, Chief Kelly, and Director Shea: We need reform NOW! The Jersey City Anti-Violence Coalition Movement (JCACM) has drafted this open letter with three concrete, initial demands for police reform in Jersey City. They are calling on all residents who are interested...

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 2: What’s in the User Friendly Budget?

June 15, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, NJ UFB - Series

This is part of a series about the User Friendly Budget. This is a relatively short post to lay out what’s in the User Friendly Budget. I also want to share some of how I think this file can be used by taxpayers and advocates. As I explained in the first post in this...

The “User Friendly Budget”, Part 1: Intro to the Series & How to Access the UFB

June 15, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaData Visualizations, Jersey City City Budget, NJ UFB - Series

Five years ago, New Jersey began mandating that every municipality* in New Jersey file a “User Friendly Budget (UFB)” as part of the annual budgeting process. This file is “user friendly” for a few reasons: The data is aggregated in unique ways that help us see the structural nature of how the city both...

Jersey City School Tax Expense Calculator for 2020/21 School Funding Year

May 18, 2020September 29, 2020Brigid D'SouzaData Visualizations, Jersey City School Funding Crisis, Property Taxes

I am part of the education team with Jersey City Together and in May 2020 we created a school tax expense calculator to help Jersey City residents understand the personal investment for a $50 million increase to the school levy. Our aim was to the put the power of understand property taxes into taxpayers’...

Jersey City BOE Passes Mr. Walker’s Full Budget: $52.7M

May 12, 2020July 29, 2020Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis

Jersey City’s Board of Education took a huge step forward, following Superintendent Walker’s courageous lead to invest in Jersey City Public Schools. I didn’t write up a post specific to this but am sharing the NJ.com article below that explain the vote. Also providing a visual – shared from Jersey City Together – that...

It’s Now or Never to Support the 2020/21 Schools Budget for Our Kids.

May 9, 2020October 23, 2020Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis

It's Saturday May 9th and we are within a week of the 2020/21 schools budget being passed for next year. Parents are on the 98th yard line of a fight to push Superintendent Walker's full budget across the goal line. This post is aimed to bring parents and school advocates up to speed, give...

Approve the 2020/21 #JerseyCity Schools Budget: Invest in Jersey City’s Kids

May 4, 2020October 23, 2020Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy, Jersey City School Funding Crisis

PS #5 PTA Campaign: Tell the Board of Education: Approve the 2020/21 Schools Budget - Invest in Jersey City's Kids The PTA Advocacy Team at Dr. Michael Conti PS #5 School created this "Call to Action" email campaign ahead of the final vote for the 2020/21 schools budget season that we can share with...

Jersey City Public Schools Enrollment Data Shows Diversity of District, Imperative to Progressively Fund

May 2, 2020October 23, 2020Brigid D'SouzaPublic Schools

Here is what got cut JUST LAST YEAR (2019/20 schools budget): 160 teachers - CUT 25 teachers’ aides & assistants - CUT 20 janitorial, security, and food service staff - CUT 15 administrators & supervisors - CUT All reading recovery teachers - CUT 22 out of 25 literacy coaches - CUT 19 out of...

Thoughts on Technology and Mental Health in “Remote” Paradigm of Learning.

April 9, 2020January 6, 2022Brigid D'SouzaPublic Schools

I normally use this blog to share data and analysis about taxes and public funding, but this is a more personal post. We are nearly a month into isolating at home and I wanted to share some reflections on education in this current moment. I have 2 kids in Jersey City Public Schools and I...

What Investing in Jersey City Public Schools Looks Like for 2020/21

March 20, 2020March 20, 2020Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools

On Wednesday March 18th, Superintendent Walker proposed a budget that significantly increases local investment in our public schools. The budget includes a $64 million school levy increase, which represents a 47% increase over last year’s levy. Mayor Fulop “blasted” the increase, citing the harm to taxpayers, stating that “They’re going to destroy the taxpayers....

Jersey City Public Schools 2020/21 Budget Process: Working Timeline & FAQs

February 24, 2020February 5, 2021Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy, Jersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools

As we enter the budget season for Jersey City Public Schools, I wanted to share some upcoming process info – key dates & timeframes in case it’s helpful for parents and advocates. It’s never too late to get involved. BOE Budget Process – Working Timeline This timeline was updated after the budget process concluded. ...

Value & Empower Our Public Schools By Locally Funding Them in the 2020 Schools Budget

February 14, 2020October 23, 2020Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy, Jersey City School Funding Crisis

Helpful Tips: Thank you to the PTA of Dr. Michael Conti PS #5 School for this information & advocacy. We are asking all concerned parents, residents, and taxpayers who care about our public schools to send an email to the Board of Education and Superintendent Walker to demand that Jersey City #FundOurSchools. The Superintendent...

Jersey City’s Proposed 2020 Budget (Tableau #DataViz)

February 13, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy, Data Visualizations, Jersey City City Budget, Property Taxes

In February 2020 the City Council introduced its 2020 budget (the city has typically approved the annual budget only in the summer / Quarter 3 timeframe — I don’t know the reason for the lag, only that the lag exists). Upon release of the budget, I converted the PDF into Excel and then uploaded...

Demystifying the City Budget (A Retro-Look at the 2019 Budget)

February 1, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaData Visualizations, Jersey City City Budget

To help taxpayers access the annual city budget, I've visualized it the 2019/20 proposed budget in Tableau, a data visualization software. Tableau puts the power of analysis in the user's hands; my hope is that YOU will dig into this budget data and feel empowered to engage, or perhaps more fully engage, the annual...

Why the School Tax Levy is Key to Funding JCPS (and why seeking abatement funds is not a concrete solution).

January 30, 2020January 30, 2020Brigid D'SouzaJersey City School Funding Crisis, Public Schools, Tax Abatements

I've heard "can't we go after the abatement money to fund our schools? Rather than increase the school tax levy?" The answer is: no, at least not directly. I wrote about the intersection of abatements & school funding back in 2015; this current moment has been foreseeable for years, unfortunately our elected are only...

Infographic: Jersey City: the Municipality’s Role in School Underfunding

January 18, 2020June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, Jersey City School Funding Crisis

I've created this infographic as part of the 4th post of my 4-part series about the School Tax Rate in Jersey City. The municipality's growth is a factor in the underfunding of our public schools. There is a domino effect at work; city growth is ahead in the line of dominos, and our kids...

A Closer Look at Jersey City’s School Tax Rate, Part 3: A Case for Increasing the School Tax Levy

November 11, 2019November 12, 2019Brigid D'SouzaAdvocacy, Jersey City School Funding Crisis

This is the third in a 4-part series about 2018 school tax rates, with a focus on Jersey City. This series will use public data that I have visualized in Tableau here. To read the first post in the series, click here and to read the second post, click here. Talking about taxes going up...

Infographic: Jersey City Tax Base, Tax Levies, and Tax Rates-Demystified

October 25, 2019June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaJersey City City Budget, Public Schools

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A Closer Look at Jersey City’s School Tax Rate. Part 2: Statewide Comparisons & the Role of the Tax Base

October 17, 2019June 12, 2021Brigid D'SouzaData Visualizations, Jersey City City Budget, Jersey City School Funding Crisis

This is the second in a 4-part series about 2018 school tax rates, with a focus on Jersey City. This series will use public data that I have visualized in Tableau here. To read the first post in the series, click here. “How does Jersey City’s school tax rate compare with the rest of...

A Closer Look at Jersey City’s School Tax Rate, Part 1: the Public Data

October 15, 2019October 17, 2019Brigid D'SouzaData Visualizations, Jersey City School Funding Crisis, Property Taxes, Public Schools

This is the first in a 4-part series about 2018 school tax rates, with a focus on Jersey City. This series will use public data that I have visualized in Tableau here. I was asked recently, “how does Jersey City’s school tax rate compare with other towns and cities in NJ?” We can answer...