Gov.-elect Christie visits North Brunswick to talk with educators on district challenges

By JARED KALTWASSER
STAFF WRITER

The state's next governor visited North Brunswick Township High School on Wednesday for a lesson on the challenges faced by the state's educators.

Gov.-elect Chris Christie and Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Guadagno met with 11 superintendents from across the state to discuss problems with and solutions for the state's education system.

The meeting was closed to the media, but Christie spoke with reporters afterward and said the fiscal challenges faced by school districts have wide-ranging effects.

"The challenges we face both fiscally and from an educational perspective in New Jersey are tied together," Christie said. "And that was my concept and Kim's concept walking into the meeting, and what we heard from the group of superintendents just further reinforces that, that everyone in the education community understands that real change needs to happen in the state."

Christie said he wants to work with educators to fix the problems, but he said he would have little patience with school administrators who don't want to be part of the solution.

"The truth is we are in awful shape and everyone's going to have to step up to the plate to help solve the problem, and superintendents are going to have to be part of that solution," he said.

Christie did not go into detail about the problems or suggestions voiced by the superintendents, saying he wanted them to be free to offer confidential advice.

One area Christie highlighted, however, is shared services. He said the sharing of resources between different school districts and between school districts and municipalities would be a quick way to save taxpayers money.

Christie met briefly with students before and after the meeting with superintendents. Three of the 11 superintendents Christie met with are members of his transition team's education subcommittee, including Brian Zychowski, superintendent at North Brunswick Township Public Schools. The other eight superintendents were chosen from across the state from a diverse range of districts. Susan Cole, the president of Montclair State University and the education subcommittee's chair, was also at the meeting.

Zychowski said the problems in the state's education system boil down to three areas: funding, regulations and special education.

"Before I even had a chance to speak to the governor formally inside the closed room, these issues were being discussed by my colleagues because we're all experiencing very much the same thing," Zychowski said.

Zychowski said his district is the most under-funded district in Middlesex County, according to Gov. Jon S. Corzine's school funding formula.

Schools are being given more mandates by the state, Zychowski said, while also dealing with spending caps and cumbersome regulations. He said the escalating costs of educating students ends up pitting regular education programs against special education programs.

Christie and Zychowski have known each number for a number of years, Zychowski said, because their children played youth sports together.

"I came to North Brunswick (school district) because I think you're doing a great job here," he said. "You don't, as governor-elect, come to a district that you think is failing. You come to places you want to shine a bright spotlight on because they're doing a great job."