Today’s News From Region 6
News on the rally…
Unions Rally at New Jersey’s Capitol Against Christie, Walker
Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) — Thousands of union members rallied in the rain outside New
Jersey’s Capitol to protest Governor Chris Christie’s proposed benefit cuts and show
support for workers fighting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s bill to limit collective bargaining.
…Overcome. Fifty-seven unions were represented, according to the New Jersey Education
Association, the state s teachers union. Republican governors…
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-25/unions-rally-at-new-jersey-s-capitol-against-christie-walker.html
And health care premiums…
Christie Plan for Workers to Pay 30% Care Premium May Spread
One of Governor Chris Christie’s “tough choices” for balancing New Jersey’s $29.4
billion budget is making public workers cover 30 percent of health-care premiums, about
what their private-sector counterparts pay.
…any difference between low and high incomes. Teachers Union The New Jersey Education
Association, which represents about 200,000 current and…
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-25/christie-plan-for-workers-to-pay-30-care-premium-may-spread.html
| Friday, February 25, 2011 |
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Hundreds rally in Trenton in support of unions
INQUIRER TRENTON BUREAU TRENTON – Hundreds of people are rallying in the rain
at the New Jersey Statehouse this afternoon in solidarity with public-union employees
in Wisconsin and to protest against Gov.
…shouted. New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech and New Jersey
Education Association President Barbara Keshishian were among the union leaders…
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20110225_Hundreds_rally_in_Trenton_in_support_of_unions.html
Conservative N.J. lawmaker, tea party activists ask for shared sacrifice amidst union rally
Tweet Share Share close Google Buzz Digg Stumble Upon Fark Share Email Print TRENTON
— As public workers and supporters started to gather outside the Statehouse to show
solidarity with Wisconsin public workers and protest Gov.
…health care. Union bosses for decades, including (New Jersey Education Association President)
Barbara Keshishian, have aggrandized themselves…
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/conservative_nj_lawmaker_tea_p.html
Christie Talks Reforms At South Jersey Town Hall
The governor pushed for changes to the state pension and benefits system before a
standing-room-only crowd Thursday. …question-and-answer portion of the town hall, accusing
the New Jersey Education Association of obstructing progress in the state s schools, especially…
http://westfield.patch.com/articles/christie-talks-reforms-at-south-jersey-town-hall
Today’s News From Region 6
| Tuesday, February 8, 2011 |
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Christie Blasts Legislature, Sweeney
MyFoxPhilly – 02/08/11 12:53
Christie said a recent report that says New Jersey’s public employee pension crisis is going to get even worse shows the dire need now to cut public worker benefits. And he said if you go to the legislature’s website, you’ll find the Sweeney pension bill number and a blank page – the perfect symbol, he said, of the Democrat’s commitment to pension reform right now. |
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N.J. Assembly, Senate Republicans propose pension reform bills
NJ.com – 02/08/11 11:10
Gov. Chris Christie’s plan to drastically change the state’s troubled pension system was introduced by Republicans lawmakers Monday. Democrats Monday promoted their own proposal outlined in January. “The Senate President has put forward a plan that would blow up the pension system as it currently exists and recreate it so it works and is no longer a political football,” said Chris Donnelly, a spokesman for Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester). “The governor’s plan is simply more of the same that got us to where we are now.” |
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Stile: Legal ads legislation might be more about political pressure than local savings
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 02/08/11 07:10
EDITORIAL: By Charles Stile, Bergen Record Columnist. “Politicians, furious or frightened by their hometown newspaper’s coverage, often call the publisher and issue an ultimatum: Call off the watchdogs or risk losing advertising from local governments. … Legislation, backed by New Jersey’s two most powerful political figures — Republican Governor Christie and the South Jersey Democratic Party broker George Norcross — could arm politicians with a new tool to muzzle the press. Or as Star-Ledger Publisher Richard Vezza told legislators on Thursday, the legislation will turn watchdogs into “lapdogs you can control.” … In his testimony, Vezza said Christie is “angry at the newspapers,” a reference to his own paper. Tom Moran, a Star-Ledger columnist, wrote on Sunday that Christie has been boycotting the paper’s editorial board because he took offense to a column Moran wrote last spring. |
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High school exam stymied 1 in 11
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 02/08/11 07:06
The Record Roughly one out of 11 New Jersey high school graduates failed to earn diplomas last spring through the traditional route and had to resort to a last-chance exam to get degrees, according to new state data. Some seniors repeatedly failed the alternate test, which has a less stressful format, and never got diplomas at all. Researchers have long described a correlation between family income and success on standardized tests. A range of related factors outside school are tied to student achievement, such as parents’ education and involvement, access to tutoring and expectations. Many educators striving to improve student progress argue that good teachers and principals can help children overcome the hardships of poverty and troubled families. |
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Schools brace for more budget cuts
Asbury Park Press (AP) – 02/08/11 04:36
Board of Education elections are not until April 27, but school districts have been planning their budgets for the 2011-12 fiscal year. While the state has not announced how much aid each district will receive for next year, local officials already have ideas about how their budgets will shape up, because state law this year caps at 2 percent the amount by which districts can increase property taxes. Officials also assume that the cash-strapped state will not increase funding to schools. |
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School Sanctions to Drive No Child Left Behind Rewrite
National Journal – Members – 02/08/11 02:52
Relief from punitive sanctions will be the carrot motivating the donkey in the effort to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act this year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan indicated Monday. There is very little disagreement that the law’s current accountability system needs to be less punitive, that the lowest performing schools need intervention, that teacher evaluation and improvement systems need to be updated, and that states need more flexibility. In an illustration of just how sensitive these conversations can become, educators at the NSBA conference confronted Duncan on other touchy issues, like his advocacy of merit pay for teachers and his use of competitive grants. “Do you really believe our children should compete for their education?” asked an attendee, to applause. Duncan is aware that his advocacy for school improvements gets under the skin of local educators, whether he’s calling attention to failing schools or asking unions and management to sit down together. |
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Black role models inspire winning essays
PhillyBurbs.com – 02/07/11 22:32
Two fourth graders here have been named grand prize winners of a Black History Month essay contest sponsored by the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Education Association. Thanks to their written accounts of African American role models, Riverfront School students Trey Fisher and Rachel Smith-Nipe will head to Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 15 for an all-expenses-paid to see the NBA team play against the Memphis Grizzlies and to tour the National Civil Rights Museum. They also got four tickets each to the 76ers game against the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 25. |
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Despite reprieve, NJN faces uncertain future
CourierPostOnline.com (AP) – 02/07/11 08:18
News that the state’s public TV network will stay on the air until the end of the fiscal year is good news, but uncertainty clouds the fate of NJN. “We’re here in our current configuration until the end of the fiscal year on July 1,” said Janice Selinger, acting executive director of NJN. That’s when they expect a new entity to take over.” A September Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Press Media poll found a 58 percent majority of residents supports state funding for NJN. The same percentage said New Jersey-focused programming was very important to them, and 30 percent said that it was somewhat important. Ben Dworkin, a political scientist at Rider University in Lawrenceville, said while New Jersey’s reputation for public corruption is exaggerated, it is important to have eyes on government here. |
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Actuary: Pension crisis will get worse
MyCentralJersey.com – 02/07/11 01:18
New Jersey’s pension crisis will get worse in the next several years, even if state officials add $500 million to the pension systems as planned, a state actuary testified last week. Actuary Janet H. Cranna also said the state will be forced to continue selling such assets as stocks and bonds to pay pensioners, thereby further weakening the system. But the pension crisis would not have been nearly as bad had the state government contributed to the system all along, Cranna said, instead of largely skipping payments for 10 years. |
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U.S. Sen. Menendez says it’s time to stop blaming teachers
Democratic Underground – 02/06/11 19:26
Speaking to union members at their annual legislative conference in East Brunswick, Menendez (D-N.J.) cemented his position as educators’ answer to what they see as Christie’s policies of “no.” “I want to make sure every child has the same opportunities I did, which is why I have been fighting to keep good teachers in the classroom, where they belong,” Menendez said. “In my mind, that is where teachers belong: in the classroom, not in the unemployment line.” He praised teachers for working hard under less-than-optimal conditions and championed the sustainability of pension and tenure plans. “It’s time that we stopped pointing a finger at good and decent teachers. It’s time that we stopped blaming teachers for every little thing that goes wrong,” he said. “We are all aware that the ‘blame game’ continues. It continues in Trenton.” Teachers want to be part of the conversation in Trenton and Washington, D.C., said Susan Vigilante, president of the union’s Morris County chapter and a recently retired Morris Plains teacher. “We’ve become the scapegoats for the ills of the state,” Vigilante said. “We’re not — we’re its shining stars. And Senator Menendez is making that known.” |
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Today’s News From Region 6
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Panel: NJ residents facing crippling fiscal crisis
MyCentralJersey.com – 02/04/11 14:25
An 18-member leadership group assembled by the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers to study the state’s fiscal outlook said New Jersey residents face a fiscal crisis so severe it could restrict the state’s ability to function and thrive, with a combined budget shortfall of up to $15 billion in public spending forecast by 2016. |
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N.J. budget figures released by Gov. Christie spark partisan fight
NJ.com – 02/04/11 11:00
Christie last month issued a report that said income tax revenue grew 11 percent more than expected during the first six months of the fiscal year. The governor’s analysis compared results against what was budgeted, not what was collected during the same period last year. On a year-to-year comparison, income tax revenue is coming in about the same as last year, Legislative Budget and Finance Officer David Rosen told the Assembly Budget Committee. He also said the governor’s figures did not take into account the full loss of revenue from the expiration of the so-called millionaires tax, which will be felt in April or later. The debate comes as a group of Rutgers University administrators and former top-level state officials painted a bleak long-term picture of New Jersey government finances. |
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Daily poll: Do you support the Opportunity Scholarship Act?
NJ.com – 02/04/11 10:50
Looking for solutions to failing schools, legislation is being considered that would allow students in failing districts to attend what is considered better schools. Do you support the Opportunity Scholarship Act? Take the online poll. |
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Report Calls NJ Fiscal Woes “Dire” and “Intertwined”
NJ Spotlight – 02/04/11 09:06
New Jersey’s fiscal crisis is deep and wide, and affects every level of government service — schools, municipalities, county and state. The problems are so dire that we cannot grow, cut or tax our way out of it while still maintaining the quality of life provided by current service levels. That’s the conclusion of a non-partisan group of former government officials who have put out a report called Facing Our Future under the aegis of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers (CNJG). |
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Scholarship act passes first test
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 02/04/11 08:34
A bill that would give tax credits to companies that pay for poor students to attend private or parochial schools passed an Assembly committee Thursday after six hours of impassioned debate. |
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Board of Education explains how Cap 2.0 will affect budget
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 02/04/11 08:34
OP-ED: Submitted by the Boonton Township Board of Education. “Property tax reform has been a hot topic in New Jersey. What goes on in Trenton does have an affect locally and the Boonton Township Board of Education wants to ensure you have an understanding of how New Jersey’s Cap 2.0 will affect this year’s school district budget. … To dispel myths surrounding Cap 2.0, we have adapted a Comparison Chart created by the New Jersey School Board Association into questions and answers to answer any questions you may have about how the cap will affect the 2011-2012 school year budget.” |
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Christie seeks changes to civil service bill
CourierPostOnline.com (AP) – 02/04/11 08:21
Gov. Chris Christie, as expected, conditionally vetoed a civil service reform bill, saying the legislation was so riddled with flaws that it would not achieve any significant reform and, therefore, not provide property taxpayers with significant relief from increasing costs associated with public employment. He returned the bill to the Legislature with a host of suggestions to address everything from furloughs to giving towns the ability to opt out of the civil- service system. |
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Sweeney flexes his labor muscles
Philly.com – 02/04/11 08:08
Senate leader worked with Christie on getting funds for two key projects – and jobs – for South Jersey. And though Christie, a North Jersey Republican, had more than political reasons to back the projects – especially in Atlantic City, whose health is vital to the state’s economy – the moves do acknowledge the clout of Democrats in the south and the interests they represent. Sweeney is the most prominent of the delegation, but there’s also his ally Democratic Sen. Donald Norcross of Camden County. The electrical workers’ union member is vice president of the Southern New Jersey Building Trades Council and president of the Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO Central Labor Council. |
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Making the case against school vouchers in New Jersey
PhillyBurbs.com – 02/04/11 07:12
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Michelle Taylor of Medford writes, “Instead of pulling the cream of the crop (3 to 33 percent, really?) out of underperforming schools, why don’t we address the real issue. ‘Chronically failing schools’ are those schools where 40 percent of students are partially proficient in both math and language or where 65 percent of students are partially proficient in math or language. … Massachusetts is facing the same budgetary crisis that New Jersey is facing. Instead of responding with a voucher program to aid only a small percentage of school children, Massachusetts opted to develop a rigorous curriculum developed by respected educational professionals, not politicians or business leaders who ought to stick with what they know and admit what they don’t know. … We must consider all school children in the state with a strong content-based curriculum and teacher certification requirements, not Band-Aid vouchers for a precious few beneficiaries.” |
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Feline frivolity
PhillyBurbs.com – 02/03/11 19:19
WESTAMPTON — Like the postman, the Cat in the Hat doesn’t mind a little bad weather. The tall, slender character created by beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss braved the ice and fog Wednesday morning to pay a visit to students at the Burlington County Special Services School. The Cat in the Hat is the New Jersey Education Association’s ambassador to promote Read Across America Day, the March 2 birthday of the late Theodor Seuss Geisel, who went by the pen name Dr. Seuss. The NJEA has five cats, portrayed by retired teachers, who visit schools in the weeks before Seuss’ birthday. Since so many schools want a visit, a lottery is used to pick the winners. |
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Today’s News From Region 6
| Wednesday, February 2, 2011 |
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Education voucher scheme is both drastic, desperate: Morgan’s Corner
NJ.com – 02/02/11 11:10
EDITORIAL: By Earl Morgan, columnist for The Jersey Journal. “The ‘educational scholarship plan,’ sponsored by state Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union, has passed the Senate Budget Appropriations Committee and Gov. Christie is a fan of the bill. … There’s something troubling about using taxpayer dollars to fund parochial schools. It would seem to violate the separation of church and state.” |
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2 laws signed, aim to lift A.C.
CourierPostOnline.com (AP) – 02/02/11 08:26
Gov. Chris Christie signed two bills into law designed to revitalize Atlantic City. The measures are designed to jump-start the declining city in its attempt to reinvigorate itself as a vacation destination even if it also means, as analysts have predicted, that some longtime casinos could go out of business. Critics of the administration wondered why a casino is getting a tax break, while funds for local schools are cut and the governor decided he did not have enough money to fund the rail tunnel to New York. “If you fully fund education, you have 8,000 more teachers, and if you fund the (rail) tunnel, you have 6,000 more jobs,” said Deborah Howlett, president of the left-leaning New Jersey Policy Perspective think tank. “Why is the casino more important?” |
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Herald News: Public education a low priority on BOE
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 02/02/11 08:15
EDITORIAL: The majority of public schools in New Jersey are doing a good job educating children. Somehow in the debate over teachers, tenure and the big, bad New Jersey Education Association, that simple fact is ignored. Public education is an easy target because it is expensive. We do not want to discourage smart, capable people from public service. But we do not want to encourage the idea du jour that if only non- educators from the private sector were in charge of public education that it would somehow magically improve. If the governor’ s long-range goal is to dismantle public education, fund private schools with public money and blame teachers for the failure of a small percentage of public schools, he is going to have a battle on his hands. |
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Governors Making Pension Cuts May Be Thwarted by Employee Suits
Businessweek – 02/02/11 07:55
Public workers in Colorado, South Dakota and Minnesota are already suing their states, which are among 18 that want to pare pension costs by increasing employee contributions, raising the retirement age or curbing cost-of-living increases. New Jersey’s Christie said in an interview that taking away cost-of-living increases for retirees would break a promise. It’s necessary, he said, because the state’s pension system is $46 billion short of funds. Christie’s statements don’t sit well with Steve Baker, a spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, whose 200,000 members are covered by the state pension. He said the state failed to make annual contributions to its pension funds in 13 of the past 17 years, including two under the current governor. “All his tough-guy, let-them-sue-me rhetoric fails to solve the problem,” said Baker. “Until the governor wants to sit down with all the parties and come up with a solution that solves the problem, the governor isn’t doing his job.” |
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School districts spend cautiously
PhillyBurbs.com – 02/02/11 07:00
New Jersey received $268 million from the U.S. Department of Education last fall, with about $13.4 million dedicated to Burlington County’s 40 public school districts. Statewide only 46 districts have spent any federal money, according to the Department of Education. Steve Baker, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s powerful teachers union, said Christie intentionally delayed the state’s application for the funding to ensure it would not be available to districts until after the start of the school year. “That money was supposed to put 3,900 New Jersey residents back to work,” Baker said. “The governor has chosen to let 3,900 stay on unemployment rolls so he could use the money to cover cuts he wants to make for the next year. He’s put his political agenda ahead of helping New Jersey residents.” |
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Fine Print: Abbott v. Burke Hearing Orders
NJ Spotlight – 02/02/11 06:16
A pair of legal orders helps set the parameters for the latest round of Abbott v. Burke arguments. The state’s fiscal condition is at the center of the Christie administration’s defense for not fully funding the School Funding Reform Act last year — instead cutting more than $1 billion in aid to local schools. It was presumably to be at the core of the latest hearings as well, but the order written by Long essentially said that question will rest on the full court to decide once Doyne’s work is done. |
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Educators, students air frustrations on aid cuts
Suburban – 02/01/11 23:35
Hundreds of teachers, administrators, students and parents filled the Edison High School auditorium recently, eager to discuss the impact of last year’s reductions in public education funding. Democratic legislators representing the 18th Legislative District hosted the public meeting to get firsthand accounts on impact of cuts. |
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Sweeney Offers State Pension Reform Package
Cape May County Herald.com – 02/01/11 18:12
Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney on Mon., Jan. 31 introduced legislation that would reform the state pension system while protecting taxpayers and rank-and-file public workers. |
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NEWS FROM REGION 6
| Tuesday, February 1, 2011 |
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Wall Street taking a closer look at Connecticut’s ailing pension fund
The Connecticut Mirror – 02/01/11 12:51
One of the leading Wall Street credit rating agencies recently increased its focus the fiscal health of state pension systems when rating overall creditworthiness–at the worst possible time for Connecticut. Moody’s found Connecticut is one of four states, along with Hawaii, Massachusetts and Illinois, with the highest debt- and pension-funding needs. |
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G.O.P. Governors Take Aim at Teacher Tenure
Ocala – 02/01/11 11:30
Seizing on a national anxiety over poor student performance, many governors are taking aim at a bedrock tradition of public schools: teacher tenure. The momentum began over a year ago with President Obama’s call to measure and reward effective teaching, a challenge he repeated in last week’s State of the Union address. Now several Republican governors have concluded that removing ineffective teachers requires undoing the century-old protections of tenure. |
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Who are the Marxists, NJEA or the NJ Supreme Court?
EducationNews.org (THE STATE) – 02/01/11 10:34
[THE STATE of New Jersey is a three ring circus with Fred Driscoll as the ringleader. Not unlike the political climate of New Jersey today.] Last week former State Senator Dick LaRossa testified before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee in favor of S-1872 – the Opportunity Scholarship Act, which is a euphemism for “school vouchers.” |
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MORRIS: Did Obama forget about the teachers union?
North County Times – 02/01/11 08:00
EDITORIAL: When Obama started to speak about the need to improve education, upgrade our schools and attract quality teachers, an elephant appeared in the living rooms of most Americans who were watching. Obama never mentioned the beast, but most of the country saw clearly the three letters on his back: AFT. American Federation of Teachers —- the union that, along with its counterpart, the NEA, National Education Association, has destroyed public education in America. How can we take seriously any proposal to improve schools that does not deal with the force that has dragged them down —- the teachers union? |
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Education picks reflect Christie’s voucher goals
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 02/01/11 07:23
Governor Christie’s four appointments to the state Board of Education reflect his ongoing push to remake New Jersey schools. One has been a major donor to pro-voucher groups, one helped start a Brooklyn charter school and one is a prominent developer who says he’ll bring savvy from the business world, where getting results is a matter of “life or death.” Each served on the boards of their children’s private schools and contributed to Christie’s campaign or inauguration. One appointee had never heard the term Abbott v. Burke, the landmark case over school funding. |
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Teachers union urges parents to fight school voucher plan
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 02/01/11 07:23
The state’s largest teachers union issued an urgent appeal for parents to lobby lawmakers in its fight against a proposal that would give public support for private tuition before an Assembly committee debates the bill Thursday. The NJEA also bought statewide radio spots and newspaper ads to blast the proposal, which would give dollar-for-dollar tax credits to companies that give poor children in failing schools grants to attend private and parochial schools. The NJEA memo gave talking points for contacting parent leaders, such as stressing that 25 percent of the scholarships would go to families of students already enrolled in private schools. |
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Cybercharters Come Online in New Jersey
NJ Spotlight – 02/01/11 06:18
The Christie administration has approved two online charter schools, without much statute or regulation in place to say how they would work. This has made for some interesting discussions. For instance, the current rules require a physical plant that online schools don’t necessarily have. More serious questions crop up about whether a virtual school can be a charter at all, under the law. |
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Duncan, Lee urge more black men to become teachers
AP – 01/31/11 16:54
Filmmaker Spike Lee joined Education Secretary Arne Duncan in issuing a call Monday for more black men to become teachers, making their plea at the country’s only all-male historically black college. The two took part in a town hall meeting at Atlanta’s private Morehouse College just a week after President Barack Obama urged more people nationwide to become teachers. Duncan told an audience that more than 1 million educators are expected to retire in the coming decade and that federal officials are hoping to harness that opportunity to create a more diverse teaching work force, noting that less than 2 percent of the nation’s 3 million teachers are black men. |
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Todays News From Region 6
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National School Choice Week: Every Family Has an Option
FoxNews.com – 01/31/11 18:33
Never has the topic of school choice drawn so much attention from the media, politicians, educators, parents and concerned citizens across the country. The debate, however, is far from simple. |
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Your comments: Laid-off Paterson music teacher continues instruction without pay
NJ.com – 01/31/11 15:25
The Star-Ledger’s Barry Carter profiled laid-off Paterson music teacher Nathan Thomas, who lost his job early this academic year, but whose passion for music education and dedication to the violin students with whom he has a special bond hasn’t gone away. Thomas has been leading two-and-a-half-hour sessions every Saturday with 16 middle-school violinists at Saint Bonaventure church, leading them in an ensemble for no pay, springing for pizza and encouraging his former students in their musical journeys. |
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Braun: Gov. Christie touts success of charter schools while only offering selective facts
NJ.com – 01/31/11 08:30
EDITORIAL: By Bob Bran, Star-Ledger Columnist. “Why does the governor have to be asked repeatedly to be fair about comparing charter schools with conventional schools? He’s such a fan of charters, you’d think — prosecutor that he was — he’d jump at the chance of blowing away critics with facts. Instead, he publishes only selective facts that support his arguments…. If the governor can prove charters are better, fine. If he thinks they’re the final solution to the education problem, go for it. Prove it. But right now, he’s hiding the truth. He’s ducking.” |
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Public Meeting on Controversial School Vouchers Legislation Set for Tonight in Jersey City
The Jersey City Independent – 01/31/11 13:30
Three of Jersey City’s state legislators are hosting a community meeting tonight on the controversial state bill that would create a five-year pilot program providing millions in tax credits for corporations that donate to a voucher fund for low-income students at “chronically failing” public schools in Jersey City and 12 other school districts. The legislation is opposed by both the state and local teacher unions, the Jersey City group Parents and Communities United for Education, the New Jersey chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and other groups. It is supported by school choice groups like NJ E3 (Excellent Education For Everyone). |
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School Reform Advocates Champion Choice
Free Republic – 01/31/11 10:20
Hundreds of Chicagoland residents flocked to a townhall meeting on education reform last week, as school choice advocates continued a nationwide push to highlight the issue during National School Choice Week. The applause turned to boos and jeers at any mention of teacher unions — although panelists were quick to draw a distinction between what they called the corrupt practices of unions and individual teachers. Many of the audience questions dealt with breaking the disproportionate strength of the unions, which led to an extended discussion of Governor Chris Christie’s ongoing battle with the New Jersey Education Association. |
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Are police, fire unions next on Gov. Christie’s hit list?
Daily Record (AP) – 01/31/11 09:16
In his first year, Gov. Chris Christie put the squeeze on police departments across the state but had his most prolonged and public battle with the state teachers union. And while education reform was still a focus of Christie’s State of the State address earlier this month, it’s clear that the former U.S. attorney is also putting another once-sacred employee base — the police and fire unions — into his cross hairs. Asked at a New Jersey Press Media editorial board meeting late last year why public safety unions had so far escaped his fury, Christie coyly responded, “Stay tuned.” |
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Group that gave New Jersey a D+ for handling teachers praises reform efforts
Press of Atlantic City – 01/31/11 00:31
A year after giving New Jersey a D+ for how it manages the teaching profession, the National Council on Teacher Quality says the state is one of the most aggressive in proposing reforms to the education and evaluation of teachers. But the state’s largest teachers union said student results show the state does not deserve the poor grade for its current policies. The New Jersey Education Association said the grade is not about teaching but about setting a political agenda. “It’s a publicity stunt to push their agenda,” NJEA spokesman Steve Baker said. “Our students are consistently among the highest-performing in the nation, so how can our teachers be so bad? I don’t think most people are buying into this message.” |
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Envirothon
Vimeo – 01/30/11 22:50
Teams from New Jersey high schools compete each year at the Envirothon, a hands-on, interactive, problem-solving environmental competition sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. This year Classroom Close-up follows a team from the Marine Gateway Regional High School. which is located in Gloucester. This year’s competition was held at Camp Sacajawea in Newfield, NJ. |
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Proposal: Cut New Jersey urban preschool
NJ.com – 01/29/11 09:28
A proposal being pushed by Senate Republicans would shift state money to cash-strapped suburban districts by cutting back preschool for the state’s neediest students, according to a document obtained by The Star-Ledger of Newark, sister paper of the Times. |
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From the National Education Association – Dismissal of Teachers
The New York Times – 01/30/11 05:30
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: By Dennis Van Roekel, President of the National Education Association, Re: “Reform and the Teachers’ Unions” (editorial, Jan. 24): “We take issue with your characterization of the National Education Association’s position on fair dismissal procedures. N.E.A. affiliates have been working for years to streamline the fair dismissal process. Since 2003, Clark County, Nevada, has operated under a joint agreement that has reduced the average time for a dismissal proceeding by 75 percent. More recently, the New Jersey Education Association introduced a plan that would replace administrative hearings with binding arbitration that would have to be resolved within 90 days of an arbitrator’s assignment.” |
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Pension reform plan: Benefits would be cut, investment decisions changed
Daily Record (AP) – 01/29/11 16:40
Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver will propose that the state allow the pensions systems — now working in many respects under one structure — to be governed individually by boards having an equal makeup of union and management members. The Democratic proposal calls for the state to set up the pensions modeled after a private-sector system called the Taft- Hartley plans. That would give the unions far greater say — and responsibility — to handle their own investments and manage their own system. |
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Lawmakers want shift in school funding
AllVoices – 01/29/11 15:13
A proposal being pushed by Senate Republicans would shift state money to cash-strapped suburban districts by cutting back preschool for the state’s neediest students, according to a document outlining the plan. |
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Today’s News From Region 6
| Wednesday, January 26, 2011 |
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Consolidation is key to education reform
Daily Record (AP) – 01/26/2011, 04:18 am
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Chandler Tedholm of Rockaway comments on recent column. “Paul Boudreau made an excellent point in his recent column that our children need the best possible education in order to compete in today’s global environment. Having put two children through the New Jersey public school system, I agree that the system leaves much to be desired. However, Boudreau fails to make the case that teacher tenure contributes to the problem.” |
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Christie: No need for N.J. to declare bankruptcy, yet
The Gloucester County Times – NJ.com – 01/26/2011, 04:08 am
Gov. Chris Christie isn’t looking to declare New Jersey bankrupt to escape billions in debt even as Washington weighs allowing that option to rescue fiscally challenged states. “I don’t think we’re at that stage yet,” Christie said on Bloomberg TV Tuesday. “I think it’s an idea that is out on the table. We need, as elected governors, to take responsibility for what’s going on in our states.” |
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Establishing the foundation
NJ.com – 01/26/2011, 02:28 am
EDITORIAL: A recent state report on higher education offered some discouraging news about the readiness of high school graduates for community college: The vast majority is not prepared. Gov. Chris Christie’s Higher Education Task Force found that 70 percent of first-time, full-time students enrolled in the fall 2008 semester at community colleges in New Jersey took at least one remedial course. That’s about on par with national statistics. |
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The Record: Turn up the heat
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 01/26/2011, 02:15 am
EDITORIAL: The high temperature in North Jersey on Monday was 16 degrees. At Eastside High School in Paterson, 13 classrooms were without heat for the day. As reported by Staff Writer Zach Patberg, 13 classrooms, or 6 percent of those at Eastside, were without heat for the entire day. Peter Tirri, president of the Paterson Education Association, said there have been heating issues at Eastside “for several years now.” Theodore Best, an Eastside graduate and the current school board president, said there were patches made over the years “without really fixing the problem.” |
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Many schools have left stimulus funds unused
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 01/26/2011, 02:07 am
New Jersey schools have used less than $2 million of the $268 million in federal stimulus money sent to Trenton in September as part of President Obama’s emergency package to save education jobs. While Obama urged quick action to save teachers’ jobs, Governor Christie cautioned districts to save their so-called Edujobs money until the next school year, in anticipation that budgets would remain extremely tight. Local officials appear to have taken the governor’s advice. The New Jersey Education Association blasted the governor for waiting until the Sept. 9 deadline to apply for the money, which arrived after schools had opened, set classes and assigned teachers. Many local officials said it was too late to reorganize staffing, much to the dismay of the union, which estimated the money could save 3,900 teacher jobs. “You could have put those people to work in our schools,” NJEA spokesman Steve Baker said Tuesday. “They could have been stimulating the economy. … Having those people working in schools would have been far preferable in every way to having them on unemployment lines.” Spokesmen for the governor and the Education Department declined to comment Tuesday. |
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Doubts About State Aid, as School Budget Decisions Loom
NJ Spotlight – 01/26/2011, 00:36 am
The budget process is just beginning, but public schools are trying to prepare for all eventualities. The budget preparations of 2010 included more than $1 billion in state aid cuts from Gov. Chris Christie and the legislature, the biggest reductions in New Jersey history and a big factor in widespread program and staff cuts. |
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Letter Asking Governor to Restore Lost Aid to Schools Opens Door for Many Supportive Comments
Basking Ridge Patch – 01/25/2011, 17:45 pm
Larissa Milligan’s letter to Christie and state representatives gains praise in online comments. Milligan’s letter drew 24 comments on Patch. In her letter, Milligan wasted no time in reviving Christie’s own words to back her position: “Governor Christie said in his ‘State of Emergency’ address that he would take …”Not one dime out of the classroom…Not one child’s education compromised for one minute. ” In his State of the State address he proclaimed, “We must reform our schools to make them the best in the nation.” But in Bernards Township, which is one of the best in the nation, our classrooms are being dramatically, directly and negatively impacted.” She referred to the accolades the district has received in such national publications as Newsweek and Forbes. |
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Initial Projections Show Eleven District Positions Could be Cut in Upcoming Budget
Ridgewood Patch – 01/25/2011, 13:10 pm
If initial projections hold, it’s possible that the Ridgewood school district could see eleven positions eliminated in the next budget year as it tries to get under the 2-percent cap mandated by the governor, school officials reported at Monday evening’s school board meeting. The district has not begun negotiating with the REA, the district’s teacher’s union, DeSimone said. The teacher’s union refused to give into contract concessions when approached by the district last year. Its contract with the district expires at the end of the 2010-2011 school year and at over $43,000,000, its salaries comprise about half of the district’s total budget. |
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Gov. Christie says his office is working with towns to help them avoid declaring bankruptcy
NJ.com – 01/25/2011, 11:00 am
Gov. Chris Christie appeared on Bloomberg radio and television shows this morning, talking about whether states should be permitted to declare bankruptcy and the need for federal mandate reductions. Christie today also said his office is working with municipalities to keep them solvent. But his office said no towns are currently in danger of entering bankruptcy. |
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School Officials Unveil Possible ‘Painful’ Budget Changes
Millburn-Short Hills Patch – 01/25/2011, 10:00 am
Millburn Schools Supt. James Crisfield described some of the changes and cuts on the table for the 2011-12 school budget as “painful” during Monday’s Board of Education meeting. The list includes converting full day kindergarten to half day and eliminating a team of teachers at the middle school. |
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STATES vs. TEACHERS (It’s not just a Jersey thing)
Press of Atlantic City – 01/25/2011, 08:40 am
Teachers unions find themselves on the defensive in states across the country, as governors and lawmakers press forward with proposals to target job protections and benefits that elected officials contend the public can no longer afford academically or financially. Many of those efforts are being driven by newly elected Republicans, who have traditionally drawn political opposition from teachers organizations. Union leaders say the environment has made it more politically attractive for some lawmakers to castigate labor groups rather than seek compromises with them. Governors such as New Jersey Republican Chris Christie contend that their states’ pension and health care systems for teachers and other workers need changes to remain solvent. |
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Today’s News From Region 6
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Gov. Christie, Democratic lawmakers to battle over millionaires’ tax in budget
NJ.com – 01/24/2011, 06:00 am
New Jersey’s millionaires are at the center of another budget debate between Gov. Chris Christie and the Democrats who control the Legislature — where every lawmaker is up for re-election this year. Democratic legislative leaders don’t share the governor’s position on the budget this year, specifically when asked whether the state’s roughly 16,000 millionaires should be contributing more in taxes given the steep cuts in education aid and property tax rebates that came with last year’s budget. |
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Doblin: Trenton preaches the gospel of education
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 01/24/2011, 05:16 am
EDITORIAL: By Alfred P. Doblin, Record Editorial Columnist. “The Opportunity Scholarship Act passed a state Senate committee Thursday. It is a five-year pilot program offering parents in 13 school districts the option of using vouchers for private schools and faith-based schools. State legislators are not supposed to find public funding for Catholic schools. This is crossing the line of separation between church and state. And it makes it very clear that the bill is not about school choice at all. Meanwhile the New Jersey Education Association continues to do itself no favors by not seeing past its nose. No one believes the NJEA’s sole complaint with the bill is that vouchers will undermine public education. Private schools do not have to hire unionized teachers. Vouchers also undermine the NJEA. The NJEA needs to play on a higher plane.” |
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NJ Gov. Chris Christie proves adept at using social media
Daily Record (AP) – 01/24/2011, 05:14 am
As a candidate 18 months ago, Gov. Chris Christie had relatively few fans on the Internet. Now, Christie has amassed tens of thousands of Internet followers who could bolster a 2013 re-election bid or a run for the White House, but his support on the Web pales in comparison with other Republican stalwarts. |
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On Eve of Resuming Projects, Schools Development Authority Scales Back Staff
NJ Spotlight – 01/24/2011, 00:17 am
As a decision nears on restarting New Jersey’s stalled school construction program, the beleaguered Schools Development Authority (SDA) will be doing it with fewer people. The SDA confirmed that it laid off 24 people on Friday — nearly 10 percent of its payroll — and indicated that it’s not done yet. A spokeswoman said it was part of the latest reorganization of an agency long criticized for its waste and mismanagement. |
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Opinion: Deception, Fiscal Irresponsibility, School Vouchers
NJ Spotlight – 01/24/2011, 00:05 am
OPINION: Gordon MacInnes is a fellow at The Century Foundation in New York and served as the assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education and was a member of the New Jersey State Senate and General Assembly. “A majority of the Senate budget committee decided this is the time to take a flyer on a massive pilot program for school vouchers — one that will benefit private, mainly religious, schools. In fact, the majority voted to amend the original bill to almost triple the cost to $1.1 billion. This at a time when the governor proclaims that he must contend with a $10 billion budget deficit.” |
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Governors rev up rhetoric on pension reform
Pensions & Investments – 01/24/2011, 00:01 am
Governors across the country are developing pension reform proposals to deal with mounting fiscal problems. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie targeted pension costs in his address to the state General Assembly Jan. 11, proposing to require increased employee pension contributions while reinstating state contributions that have been withheld. Mr. Christie has killed a $3.1 billion pension contribution for the current fiscal year, saying he wouldn’t put money into a “broken” system. |
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Guest column / Carl Golden / Camden layoffs are just the beginning for N.J.’s cities
Press of Atlantic City – 01/24/2011, 00:00 am
EDITORIAL: Carl Golden is a senior contributing analyst with the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Richard Stockton College. “For a clearer understanding of the impact of the cost-cutting culture currently prevailing in government, look no further than Camden – consistently ranked at or near the top of the list of the most dangerous cities in America – which last week dismissed half its police force and a third of its firefighters because it had no money to pay them.” |
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Report finds large percentage of high school grads unprepared for college
NJ.com – 01/23/2011, 22:06 pm
According to a report by Gov. Chris Christie’s Higher Education Task Force, 70 percent of first-time, full-time students enrolled in the fall 2008 semester at community colleges in New Jersey took at least one remedial course. The problem is not limited to New Jersey, of course. |
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Montclair Fears Tough School Cuts
The Wall Street Journal – 01/23/2011, 20:38 pm
The Montclair, N.J., school district is considering closing schools to bridge a budget gap, and parents are up in arms. It’s a big change for the acclaimed district, which embodies the principle of choice that Gov. Chris Christie and education reformers throughout the country say is essential. This year, Montclair’s highest-earning teachers took a one-year pay freeze; the district was one of a few that did what Mr. Christie was calling for across the state. But the anticipated $900,000 in savings could not make up for $5.4 million cut from its state subsidy, part of nearly $820 million in cuts statewide. |
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State Bankruptcy Is a Bad Idea
The Wall Street Journal – Europe – 01/23/2011, 19:41 pm
As states struggle with enormous deficits and exploding pension costs, some analysts are urging Congress to enact a law enabling states to declare bankruptcy the way municipalities can under Chapter 9 of the federal bankruptcy code. This is a bad idea. A state bankruptcy provision could create more problems than it solves. Yet state officials committed to cutting costs already have options for putting the squeeze on their unions. One is the threat of mass layoffs, which most governors can impose unilaterally. Governors and legislators also can prospectively freeze wages or even cut them through involuntary furloughs, as California and several other states did over the past two years. |
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Charter schools not for everyone
Daily Record (AP) – 01/23/2011, 05:07 am
OPINION: Gov. Chris Christie is a big proponent of charter schools, and so it was no surprise last week when he made a bit of a fuss over the announcement of the approval of 23 new charter schools — the most ever approved in a single year. There remain many concerns and a lot of confusion about the effects of diverting taxpayer funds from local school districts to charter schools. There is also no compelling evidence that either confirms or refutes the notion that charter schools on the whole provide a better alternative to traditional public schools. While charter schools can potentially provide services more cheaply, a proliferation of charter schools means the state will be moving in the opposite direction of the kind of consolidation that many view as a key to reducing overall education costs in the state. |
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Idealism, not cash, should rule education
Daily Record (AP) – 01/23/2011, 05:05 am
Gordon MacInnes, appeared last Wednesday night in Morris Plains at a forum on various education issues sponsored by the Morris County School Boards Association. Also on hand were state Sens. Anthony R. Bucco and Joseph Pennacchio, both R- Morris, and state Assemblymen Anthony M. Bucco, R-Morris, and Jon Bramnick, R-Union. |
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Private school gain at public school expense
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 01/23/2011, 02:15 am
OP-ED: Barbara Buono, a Democrat from Metuchen, represents New Jersey’s 18th District in the state Senate. We need to fix public schools, not disinvest in them. “In his State of the State address, Governor Christie correctly said that New Jersey ‘can’t continue to spend money we don’t have,’ and vowed to ‘not put in place tax cuts that we can’t pay for.’ But then he went on to enthusiastically endorse legislation, named the Opportunity Scholarship Act, that would give a huge tax break to corporations in order to fund vouchers for private and religious schools. The governor never explained how he will pay for these massive tax cuts.” |
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Christie’s choice
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 01/23/2011, 02:11 am
With the Democrats’ “Back to Work” package on his desk, Governor Christie faces an unpalatable choice between two things dear to his heart. At least a third of the 30 or so job creation, regulatory reform and economic development bills will cost money, forcing the governor to decide between balancing the state budget and backing incentive programs that could make New Jersey more attractive for businesses and investors. |
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West Milford may examine outsourcing school food services
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 01/23/2011, 00:40 am
A proposed examination into outsourcing the local school district’s food service department will be up for vote during the Board of Education meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening. The cafeteria workers have been willing to negotiate and amend their contract in past years, and the benefits of internal food-service management for the staff, students and community are evident in the schools. Still, the department does not have the buying power to get the rates on supplies an outside management company would. |
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Reform and the Teachers’ Unions
The New York Times – 01/23/2011, 00:32 am
Education officials across the country are increasingly focused on the two critical reform tasks: developing more effective teacher evaluation systems and speeding up the glacial pace of disciplinary hearings for teachers charged with misconduct. The American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest teachers’ union, has wisely chosen to work with state legislatures and local school districts to help shape these new systems rather than try to block them. The AFT is well ahead of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union. But many members of the AFT union are resistant to the idea of accountability systems, which they say can be far too easily manipulated. |
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Christie pushes to end “lifetime job protection” for teachers
Press of Atlantic City – 01/22/2011, 23:24 pm
Representatives of the state’s education establishment — from the main teachers union to Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education — gathered at the Princeton campus of Educational Testing Service to talk about challenges in evaluating teachers. Education researchers say test scores were not intended to measure a teacher’s worth. The state teachers union, with whom Christie has infamously tangled through first year, was more blunt in its assessment. “Every decision the governor makes is a political decision,” said Steven Baker, a spokesman for the union, the New Jersey Education Association. “This isn’t about the kids. If the governor was concerned about them, he wouldn’t have cut $1.3 billion in public education, he wouldn’t have spent a year trashing those in public education.” |
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The Record: A shell game
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 01/22/2011, 02:20 am
EDITORIAL: The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted for the revved-up Opportunity Scholarship Act. It’s a sneaky piece of legislation that allows corporations to donate money to non-profit agencies, which then pass on the money to low-income students attending chronically failing public schools. The children use the funds to enroll in private or parochial schools, and the corporations get a dollar- for-dollar tax break. This is a voucher program, called by another name and funded by the taxpayers of New Jersey. It is also an end-run around the separation of church and state. A public education must be free from religious ideology. But if the legislation passes, taxpayers will be subsidizing religious schools under the cloak of public education. |
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Burlington Township Student Dies of Flu
NBCPhiladelphia.com – 01/24/2011
Burlington Township school officials have confirmed a kindergarten student who attended B. Bernice Young School died of complications from the flu Friday. |
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Unions see sharp membership declines again
NorthJersey.com (AP) – 01/21/2011, 14:42 pm
The nation’s labor unions saw another steep decline in membership last year, even as the economy showed signs of recovery and job losses slowed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that unions lost 612,000 members in 2010, dropping the unionized share of the work force to 11.9 percent from 12.3 percent in 2009. That follows a loss of 771,000 workers in 2008, continuing a steady decline from the 1950s when more than a third of workers belonged to unions. Public employment unions saw a 1.2 percent decline, mostly from job cuts among state and local government workers. |
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N.J. lawmakers advance school voucher program for students in failing schools
Star-Ledger (NJ.com) – 01/21/2011, 7:45 am
The Opportunity Scholarship Act is a signature piece of Gov. Chris Christie’s education reform agenda and another proposal over which he and the state’s largest teachers union are coming to blows. The New Jersey Education Association vehemently opposes the voucher program, calling it “a government bailout for struggling private schools.” |
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Christie pushes end to teacher tenure
ABCnews.com (AP) – 01/22/2011
Gov. Chris Christie, intent on overhauling parts of New Jersey’s education system, is making a priority of eliminating lifetime tenure so it’s easier to fire teachers whose students don’t do well. |
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Virtual Jersey: Moving ahead with charter schools NorthJersey.com (Bergen Record) – 01/20/2011, 05:23 pm
EDITORIAL: Virtual Jersey is a weekly podcast focusing on the political stories affecting New Jerseyans. Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin moderates a discussion between political strategist Republican Mike DuHaime of Mercury Public Affairs and Democrat Jamie Fox, a lobbyist and partner in Fox and Shuffler. Education is a big topic this week. Twenty-three new charters were approved. What’s your reaction to this? |
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Bob Braun: Calculating the difference in charter schools
Star-Ledger – 01/23/11, 7:08 pm
EDITORIAL: Charters have very little impact on most people in New Jersey. The state has 591 school districts, but charters exist in only 22 — all but four in cities. The state has 4,385 traditional schools and 68 charters. Public schools enroll 1.38 million children; charters, 22,000. In cities, however, the impact of charters — as presently run — could be segregation based on intellectual ability, language skill and income. Test scores are less important than what it will do to traditional public schools in the cities. |
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Today’s News From Region 6
Monday, January 17, 2011 & Tuesday, January 18, 2011
§ N.J. approves 23 new charter schools
TRENTON — New Jersey’s Department of Education has approved 23 new charter schools, Gov. Chris Christie announced today.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/nj_approves_23_new_charter_sch.html
§ Your comments: Data shows charter school students outperform those in local districts
A report obtained by The Star-Ledger and expected to be released today by the state Department of Education shows that well over half of New Jersey’s charter schools have students who are doing better on standardized tests than students in their local-district counterparts.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/your_comments_data_shows_chart.html
§ Lawmakers mull NJ school voucher bill
A bill that would create the state’s first school voucher program and offer scholarships to students in low-performing school districts is scheduled to be considered Thursday in a key Senate committee. A spokesman for the state’s largest teachers union, which opposes the bill, said Monday that the new version of the bill would expand the number of students receiving scholarships. By the end of the five-year pilot project, the number of scholarships would rise to 40,000, said Steve Baker of the New Jersey Education Association.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20110118/COMMUNITIES/110117081/1005/NEWS01/Lawmakers-mull-NJ-school-voucher-bill-
§ Fact finder report expected in Feb.
WEST DEPTFORD TWP. A state-appointed fact finder’s recommendation on teachers’ contracts here may come in early February, board of education President James Mehaffey said. The fact finder, assigned by the state Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC), came into play when mediation between the board and the teachers union failed.
http://www.nj.com/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-17/129532831788970.xml&coll=8
§ N.J. Governor Puts Teacher Tenure In Hot Seat
Since his election in 2009, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been a relentless critic of schoolteachers. Christie wants to make it a lot easier to fire ineffective teachers by eliminating tenure. The problem is that this can drag on, sometimes for several years. Even union leaders agree. This has to change, says Barbara Keshishian, president of the New Jersey Education Association. “If the process needs to be speeded up, less expensive, then let’s address those issues, but you don’t throw away a process that otherwise works,” Keshishian says.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/features/npr.php?id=132942145
§ Pension system breakup proposed
TRENTON — Ronald Zilinski, a retired finance director for the city of Trenton, has quietly advocated for months that the state should break up its massive pension system, the 15th largest in the country. Zilinski is concerned the pensions, collectively facing $53.9 billion in unfunded liabilities, might end up doing the unthinkable: take pension money from some groups of employees, such as municipal workers, to pay for others, like teachers. The state’s largest teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association, is studying the proposal.
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/article/20110117/NEWS01/101170333/1002/Pension-system-breakup-proposed
§ Doblin: Put teachers on the table, not in the trash
GOVERNOR CHRISTIE came to Paramus last week and, like anyone coming to Paramus, he came to shop. But the governor was not shopping for something; he came to shop his ideas for education reform. At a Thursday town hall meeting he said, “When you have schools like the 200 chronically failing schools in New Jersey with 104,000 students in them that have been judged to be chronically failing, we’re going to close them and start over.” Starting over means not just closing these schools, but doing away with teacher tenure and replacing it with merit pay attached to student performance. It also means opening more charter schools. Blocking the way is the New Jersey Education Association, according to Christie. The NJEA is the Big Bad Wolf.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/doblin/doblin_011711.html
§ NJEA calls voucher plan $1B ‘budget buster’
The state’s largest teachers union says a bill that would provide vouchers for students to attend private schools could cost taxpayers as much as $1 billion over five years — nearly three times initial estimates — because of amendments made to the measure. But supporters of the Opportunities Scholarship Act said the estimate, released Friday by the New Jersey Education Association, was “laughable” and that the initiative could save money in the long run.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/113861969_NJEA_calls_voucher_plan__1B__budget_buster_.html
News From Region 6
