NJ Education Report

With pictures of Jon Corzine looking authoritative and benevolent, and pictures of Chris Christie looking large and bewildered, NJEA has launched a new website called NJ Kids and Families. The site also features “fact sheets” on preschool education, family leave, access to healthcare, and public school funding. There are two handy petitions to sign, one “urging Chris Christie to change his position on important issues facing families and children” and another “urging Jon Corzine to continue his support for families and children.”

In response, reports PolitickerNJ, Christie accused the NJEA of distorting his platform. Senator Joe Kyrillos, Christie’s campaign manager, described NJEA’s tactics as “real bare knuckles distorted political advertising — the kind that I have not seen, even in this state, from a group like this.”

Here’s an example of one of the fact sheets: public school funding. Jon Corzine’s side of the sheet is emblazoned with four quotes from various papers, all touting the fact that he has “increased school funding” and doesn’t believe in vouchers. Christie’s side of the sheet is one terse quote in which he says he supports vouchers.

The website already needs an update. Just this past Friday the Star-Ledger reported that Corzine had “revealed for the first time” his proposals to cover N.J’s. $8 million deficit, in part by “not fully funding state aid to school districts.”

Not so much a revelation as a replay. Corzine cut school aid to districts this past year by reneging on state aid payments and dumping a pension payment due from the State onto individual school districts. He also cut payments for mandated preschools (or babysitting services, whatever your wont). Most school districts are bracing themselves for further cuts.

Fact is that neither Corzine, Christie, nor Daggett can balance a budget with school costs of more than $15K per kid per year, much of it payroll. Everyone knows this, except maybe the web designers at NJEA.