NJEA just issued a press release that responds to Gov. Christie’s anticipated call during his speech this afternoon for longer school days and years. NJEA President Wendell Steinhauer says,
I welcome the opportunity to sit down with Gov. Christie and the Department of Education to discuss the benefits and challenges of implementing an extended school day and school year. That discussion must include educators and parents as well, to ensure that all concerns are taken into account and it should be based on research and evidence.
Steinhauer also uses the opportunity to bash Christie for his veto yesterday of a bill mandating full-day kindergarten, the slow pace of facilities upgrades, and Christie’s “underfund[ing of] New Jersey’s school funding formula by $5.1 billion in his first term.”
As far as lengthening the school day and year, NJEA welcomes “serious conversation about the resources needed to lengthen the school day and year,” which should proceed at the local district level, not through the Governor:
New Jersey has a well-established collective bargaining system that provides the legal process by which districts can implement such changes once they are agreed upon. NJEA has consistently supported the use of collective bargaining to help make such important educational decisions.
In other words, show us the money.
