NJ Education Report

Davy Up Close and Personal:

Today’s Star-Ledger has a lukewarm profile of Education Commissioner Lucille Davy in which the m.o. seems to be to damn with faint praise. The piece quotes Ada Beth Cutler, dean of the College of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University, who weakly tosses this:

I admire and respect Lucille for her incredible dedication to the students and the public schools of New Jersey. She wants to find ways to ensure every child in the state succeeds. The jury is out on whether some of the policies she has initiated will achieve those goals, but she is very dogged and sincere about trying to effect change.

Irene Sterling of the Paterson Education Fund gives it a half-hearted whirl:

She is a nice, middle-class woman. She has been very persuasive with people who have like experience. She’s not very persuasive when she steps outside her circle. She has a very narrow view of what is happening.

Dogged and sincere. Nice, middle-class woman. That’s the best we can do, folks?

To be fair, the article also cites Newark Superintendent Clifford Janey and Davy’s hometown friend complimenting her commitment and knowledge. And here’s an interesting snippet:

Davy bristles at the notion she is naive, arguing she understands the needs in the poor districts and believes they are being met. She noted state aid per pupil in New Jersey is among the highest in the nation; no one spends more overall.

Spending the most in the nation is a good thing? If we’ve learned anything from history of the Abbott districts it is that increases in spending do not correlate with increases in achievement.

Asbury Park Press Takes Corzine Up on His Offer:

Let’s jump from lukewarm to sizzling as the APP delivers a hard-hitting answer to Corzine’s challenge for better ideas to solve our monetary mess. Among the education-related suggestions listed:

Take whatever steps are necessary — legislation, executive order or use of governor’s emergency powers — to impose immediate wage freezes for all municipal, county and school employees. Freezing state workers’ wages and imposing furloughs isn’t enough — and it isn’t fair that only state workers are being asked to make the sacrifice. Do it across the board.

Pass legislation requiring that all public employees pay at least 20 percent of the cost of their health insurance premiums.

Eliminate the expanded pre-K program for 3- and 4-year-olds. Even in good times, its value is debatable. Wait until the economy turns, then fully debate.

Cap at 10, or fewer, the number of holidays state, municipal, county and school employees may receive through collective bargaining. State and county workers now get at least 13 paid holidays — the most in the nation.

Passaic Teachers Rally To, Uh, Negotiate:

The Record reports that teachers in Passaic held a rally to protest their unresolved collective bargaining. Talks didn’t begin until two months before the former contract expired in August 2007 because the School Board was bargaining with another unit. Come on, board members: surely you can walk and chew gum at the same time.

Budget Process Can Be a Political Football…

…at least in Hamilton, where Board candidates are bonding with current Board members to protest a budget process that seems to delegate a bit too much to the Administration. Board member Andrew Kaszimer explains to the Trenton Times:

Essentially, central office staff was deciding on the budget back in October but it was not until our January meeting that we met as a whole board to hear a budget. It was really already done.

Get That District a Sudafed:

The Press of Atlantic City reports that Pinelands Regional School District suspended a kid for having a tablet of Alavert (a legal, over-the-counter antihistamine) in his backpack. You know, zero tolerance policy and all. The ACLU is now suing the district. Good use of taxpayer funds, guys.