NJ’s second chance at an education fund

Posted in: Education High School Opinion Politics on August 2, 2010 at 10:49 pm |

By Douglas E. Hall

You can see how Governor Christie was an effective U.S. attorney.  He is so combative.  I used to work for a publisher who once said during a staff meeting, “Always kick a man when he is down.”  I don’t know if that is in Governor Christie’s creed, but he does seem to enjoy poking his adversaries in the eye.

Before pursuing that point, let me congratulate the governor and the Commissioner of Education Bret Schundler on the achievement of placing New Jersey as a finalist in Phase 2 of President Obama’s education funding competition, “Race to the Top.”

Now to Governor Christie’s statement on that achievement:

“President Obama and (U.S. Secretary of Education Arne) Duncan today recognized our administration’s plan for bold reform of our state’s education system.  This announcement affirms our decision to stick with real reform and not capitulate to the watered-down, failed status quo approach advocated by the NJEA (NJ Education Association).  Now is the time for New Jersey’s leaders to join me to begin enactment of the pillars of real education reform contained within our “Race to the Top” application – more  charter school opportunities for students, more choice for parents and fidelity to placing student success ahead of union self interest.”

Note the jab at the NJEA, the teacher’s union, which the governor has been battling for months.

Was it really necessary to reiterate the governor’s position in the first phase of the “Race to the Top” competition and once again characterize the early NJEA response as a “watered-down failed status quo approach”?

Let’s not go back and rehash all of the ill-considered comments on both sides and who committed the most egregious lapses of diplomacy and etiquette.

Voters and elected officials must demand at this point that the governor, Education Commissioner Bret Schundler and the staffs of both of these men work diligently with the leaders of NJEA to see that New Jersey is shown in its very best light as the state proceeds to achieve financial rewards from the Obama Administration to improve the education of all of the state’s students in this “Race to the Top.”

This will be no easy task, even if the Christie Administration and the NJEA were working as bosom buddies.  The sticking point for the unions is that teachers and principals as well as students must show improvements in the implementation of the program.

The $4.35 billion program pits the states against each other to propose a program worth 500 points with varying aspects that are tied to various numbers of points.  For example, improving teacher and principal effectiveness is worth 58 points.

A coalition of civil rights groups —including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Urban League — have called on Secretary of Education Duncan to rework significant pieces of the administration’s K-12 agenda, including “Race to the Top.”

These groups also took issue with the Obama Administration’s prescription for intervening in the lowest-performing schools, which offer states a menu of potential remedies, including closing down a school and sending its students elsewhere. Nearly all of the options require the removal of the school’s principal.

These are just some of the elements of “Race to the Top” that make some educators a bit nervous.

New Jersey is seeking success in the second phase of this program after striking out in Phase 1 when Delaware and Tennessee were the only winners.  There are 17 other states competing, plus the District of Columbia, for the $3.4 billion available in the second phase.

For the sake of the state’s students, we hope the Christie Administration and the NJEA will put aside past differences and work diligently on this project.

Tags: Chris Christie Hall NJEA