NJ Education Report

Booker for Governor?
George Norcross, a Democratic mover and shaker, is “working the phone lines” to get Corzine to resign, according to In The Lobby. Choice replacements are Mayor Cory Booker or Rep. Frank Pallone.

Acting U.S. Attorney: N.J. is the most corrupt state in America:
New Jersey Newsroom reports on the FBI agents’ ire at the depth of corruption in the Garden State, which “stopped just short of urging New Jerseyans to go to their windows, lean out and shout, ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

Other Comments on Changes in the Race:
Charles Stile writes, “Thursday’s historic federal sting may not be the death blow to Corzine’s reelection, but it was a body blow. It disabled a sizeable chunk of the Hudson County Democratic machinery.”

“The State of New Jersey isn’t broken,” says Alfred Doblin of the Record. “The state Democratic Party is. Some would argue they are one and the same.”

John Bury tags his editorial, “Corzine Must Resign .”

Debating the Timing of Changing Proficiency Scores on NJ ASK :
The Record records the debate between NJEA, the DOE, and a North Jersey superintendent on whether the DOE’s decision to change the cut scores months after schools took the test was good timing. (The real reason for the DOE’s decision: see here.)

Asbury Park Press vs. Education Law Center on Efficacy of Preschools:
While most media reported favorably on N.J.’s investment in free public preschool for poor 3 and 4 year-olds after a report from National Institute for Early Education at Rutgers said it was increasing academic achievement, the APP Editorial Board says it’s an untimely investment and that the report was “flawed in several ways.” David Sciarra of the Education Law Center shoots back today on the benefits of preschool.

Even the Food Stinks:
The travails of Camden Public Schools extend to its food services department. New Jersey Newsroom reports on “rampant waste, and possible fraud and theft” after a consultant estimated that Camden school cafeterias neglected to collect $500,00 in meal fees and wasted $1,500,000 in food.

Dysfunctional School Board Award of the Week:
Goes to Fairfield Board of Education, where one member has sued another, reports The News of Cumberland County. The original charges of “terroristic threats” were downgraded to “harrassment” after a Board member said that her colleague had threatened to “punch her in the face and take her out.” At least it was during a closed session.