It is not surprising that the question of exactly which system bears more responsibility for a school-purposes property-tax increase is a hotly disputed issue among those who run Red Bank’s two public school systems.

Just as nobody wants to pay higher taxes, nobody wants to be the one blamed for those taxes.

While the strongest argument in town about responsibility may belong to the Board of Education, in reality it is an unfair question.

The entity ultimately responsible for the high property tax bills everyone faces to support schools is the state.

The state created the funding mechanism for all public school systems and, ultimately, it is the only entity that can undo it.

Since the Board of Education had the good fortune to be in town first, it can make a reasonable argument that any cost increases are part of the changes that came with the charter school.

Unfortunately, Gail Horvath, the business administrator for the charter school, let herself get pulled into the argument.

Rather than take a principled stand that the purpose of the charter school was not to save money, but to improve eduction, she attempted to twist logic to shift responsibility.

No one ever made a claim that the idea behind charter schools was to save money.

The only claim, or hope, was that they would improve the education received by students wherever the schools sprang up.

Based on test scores, both in Red Bank and across the state, the jury remains out on whether that will happen.

That an attempt to improve education should cost money should surprise no one.

The charter school is now a fact of life in Red Bank, and ultimately it offers something very desirable — a different learning environment that gives more students a chance at academic success.

Charter schools should be based on the principle that not every child learns the same way and some students will benefit from a different approach.

This experiment is just beginning, and officials with both school systems have shown a willingness to work hard and come up with innovative ways to help their students learn.

In time, Red Bank’s two public school systems could become a winning formula for all of the town’s children.