Bret Schundler comes to NJSBA: The Record’s coverage on yesterday morning’s event zeroes in on Schundler’s reassurance that state aid cuts will be less than 15%. The Star-Ledger describes how “Bret Schundler brought his tough-on-unions, grim-on-the-economy message to anxious officials at a town hall meeting in Harrison.” Full NJ Left Behind coverage tomorrow.
Acting Ed Commish Bret Schundler confirmed that the State is closing down CREATE Charter School in Jersey City. 4.8% of 12th grades passed the language arts HSPA and a whopping 2.7% of seniors passed the math portion. Department of Strange But True: From the Star-Ledger: “The school is run by former Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski, who didn’t run for re-election last year following an incident in November 2008 in which he urinated on concert-goers at a Grateful Dead Tribute Band concert in Washington, DC.”
Charles Stile of The Record says he’s not going to “get hysterical” over Gov. Christie’s new staff member whose duties are limited to managing his boss’s profile in cyberspace because he’ll be a very busy young man. “Although the recent sites [see here] are not a monolithic rebuke of Christie, most postings accuse “King Christie” of protecting “millionaires” and corporations while scapegoating the “undervalued,” mostly middle-class public school teachers. Others see it as the first step in Christie’s dismantling of public education.”
Gov. Christie on 101.5’s “Ask The Governor”: “A school teacher said he felt like he was being targeted. He asked why did it seem only the middle class would suffer. Christie said the sacrifice would be across the board. He said the teacher was spouting the pabulum put out by his union. He said most teachers pay nothing for their health care benefits while the federal U.S. Attorney’s Office paid 25 percent of the cost. Christie said people should not stand for a school board saying it had to raise property taxes because the administration cut back excess on unanticipated surpluses. “What is driving these costs is like what happened in Marlboro … a 4.5 percent wage hike per year and zero contribution to their health benefits.” ( Bob Ingle’s Politics Patrol.)
The Star-Ledger reports that an appellate court has ruled that NJ is not constitutionally required to fully fund state pensions every year.
The Asbury Park Press reports on a meeting Tuesday of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors re: NJ’s pension fund crisis: “Two union leaders, representing the state’s teachers union and the Communication Workers of America, said they would oppose any move to further raise the retirement age, which was raised last year, and fight any proposed reduction in benefits for current workers.”
Peyton Walcott urges all school districts to put their check registers online.
If you’re planning on reading a review of Diane Ravitch’s new book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” read Chester Finn’s.
