But at the same time, we must recognize that the quality of our lives depends on more than a strong economy and a clean environment. We must give our children the tools they need to build their futures. I am thankful that our State Supreme Court recognized that with our core academic standards, we are giving our kids a solid education. We now have rigorous standards in seven subject areas - including math, English, science, history, arts, and world languages. And we have a plan to wire every classroom in the state to the Internet before I leave office.
Education is the springboard to success.
This Thanksgiving, I want to give thanks for the fact that we have achieved so much of what we set out to do. We have preserved the quality of our environment, created jobs, and are giving our children an education of which we can be proud. However, we have to do even more to ensure the people of this state have the quality of life they deserve. We have to continue to find ways to make living in New Jersey more affordable. For instance, my Property Tax Commission recently released a report with 60 recommendations to help county, school, and municipal officials lift the burden of high property taxes.