Video: Legislative Leaders on How to Make NJ More Affordable 

On Feb 9, 2026

At NJBIA’s recent Public Policy Forum, legislative leaders discussed ways to make New Jersey more affordable, including holding down taxes, and making government more efficient. 

Senator Vin Gopal (D-11), who chairs the Senate Education Committee, pointed out that 40% of the state’s school districts have fewer than 500 students. 

“Out of 600 school districts, about 240 of them have less than 500 kids,” Gopal said as he made the case for mandatory consolidation of municipal services and school district services. 

“Now we’re not talking about countywide schools. We’re not talking about voters not having a say … but why should two school districts neighboring each other have the same healthcare broker, yet be negotiating for two sets of employees? Why do we have (separate) IT departments in all these places. Why do we have a municipal court every five minutes?” 

Go here to watch the video, which also features Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19); Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-13); and Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-13). NJBIA Chief Government Affairs Officer Christopher Emigholz moderated the discussion. 

The Public Policy Forum, held Jan. 30 in Princeton before a sold-out crowd of 450 people, also featured a keynote address from Gov. Mikie Sherrill and a C-suite panel discussion with the state’s leading business executives. 

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