NJ Education Report

From a Q & A with Tom Moran of the Star-Ledger:

Q. On the tenure reform bill, the Democrats are talking about making an exception to the LIFO reform — Last In First Out — that would make it hard for her to fire those teachers by grandfathering in tenure for all the existing teachers. How important is that?

A. It’s really important, but I can’t yet tell you it is a deal-breaker for me or not. I’ve got to see what else is around it. What I’ve also learned in this job is that sometimes I don’t get everything I want — things that I have to live with as a short-term interim step that will allow me to make some progress, but not lose my ability rhetorically to continue to try to grab for even more.

Q. What if the bill the Assembly approved requiring a referendum to open a charter school becomes law in New Jersey? How would that affect the movement?

A. I have grave concerns about allowing that to become law.

Q. That sounds almost like a veto threat.

A. It is expressing my concern and hoping that they would reconsider.