NJ Education Report

Lakewood’s Superintendent Quits: Superintendent Lydia R. Silva says that board members participated in rumor-mongering, personally advocated for third-party vendors, suggested the board fire all teachers to save money and made “disparaging remarks about immigrant parents, that they should all go back.” (Asbury Park Press)

Chris Christie isn’t quitting, though, even though NJEA head Vince Giordano made a special request: “My reaction to Vince asking me to resign is: Life isn’t fair. I’m not going to resign,” Christie said.

The Star-Ledger Editorial Board reviews Sen. Ruiz’s tenure reform, and adds its pleas to the growing list of advocates who believe that the elimination of LIFO (last in, first out when laying off staff) should apply to all teachers and principals, not just new hires.

The Press of Atlantic City reports that South Jersey towns with the highest unemployment and poverty would be “hardest hit by school funding reforms proposed by the State Department of Education and Gov. Chris Christie.” While most districts (except for Abbotts) will get increases in state aid of about 2%, Atlantic County, for example, will see a 2% decrease. For more on funding, see here from the Wall Street Journal.

The Star-Ledger reviews the efficacy of the new anti-bullying law after six months of implementation. The superintendent from Roxbury says that law is “a bureaucratic nightmare that saps staff time and imposes extra costs, while turning counselors into disciplinarians.” Garden State Equality, though, says it’s a “resounding success.” A survey from NJ School Boards Association found that members thought there were significantly increased costs in money and staff time.

NJ Spotlight examines the 10% of school boards that didn’t move elections to November. Here’s the final list.

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The Star-Ledger looks at the impact of the anti-bullying law on 12 NJ districts, six months after implementation. There’s been 1,127 incidents of suspected bullying were reported in those districts in the first half of the year, and 499 confirmed. The Roxbury Superintendent says the law is a “bureaucratic nightmare that saps staff time and imposes extra costs” but Garden State Equality says it’s “a resounding success.” NJ School Boards Association did a survey that showed that 90% of school boards said there were extra costs in money and staff time.

Parents, students, and teachers from Emily Fisher Charter School in Trenton, which just lost its charter for poor performance, are protesting the proposed closure.
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