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Star Ledger, ‘N.J. Assembly tables vote on measure to allow exceptions to proposed cap on public-employee raises’
njspotlight.com, ‘Fine Print: Assembly Bill 3393’
The Record editorial: ‘Waffles in the toolkit’
Njspotlight.com ‘Church, State, and Charter Schools’
The Record, ‘Unions work their way into charter schools’
New York Times, Sunday, October 24, 2010, ‘New Jersey’s Governor and the Public Education Debate’
njspotlight.com, ‘Fine Print: Assembly Bill 3393’
Contract arbitration has long been a thorn in the side of local and state officials, who look to this measure to level the bargaining table
, October 22 in More Issues |Post a Comment
Synopsis: Establishes “fair and final” as terminal procedure for police and fire contract arbitration.
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Sponsors: Assemblyman Lewis Greenwald (D-Camden) and Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-Hudson)
Why it matters: New Jersey’s contract arbitration system has been a source of complaint from local and state officials for years. They have said the process of settling contract impasses is stacked against them and in favor of public employee unions, leading to higher contract awards and, in turn, higher property taxes. Among his “toolkit” package for local governments, Gov. Chris Christie has proposed putting a 2 percent cap on all arbitration awards. This legislation is more flexible, but changes how arbitrators are selected and requires that they choose from proposals made in collective bargaining and not devised their own. It also requires that arbitrators consider the state’s financial conditions, specifically its 2 percent spending caps, a requirement not currently in place.
The numbers behind the bill: Arbitration awards are not that common, with a few dozen a year, according to data released by the Democrats. In the first half of this year there were just five awards. Last year, there were 16. But in most years, the data shows that the arbitration awards have done little to bring down settlement rates. In 2009, the 60 voluntary settlements came in less than the arbitrated ones.
Why it’s not a done deal: Municipal unions representing police and fire workers are strongly against the measure, testifying this week that the arbitration system is not as dysfunctional as politicians say. On the other end, Christie is not ready to jump on board, standing strongly behind his original proposal to limit all awards to no more than 2 percent. The Assembly is slated to vote on Monday, with its budget committee releasing it on Thursday. Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) has also voiced his strong support.
Star Ledger, ‘N.J. Assembly tables vote on measure to allow exceptions to proposed cap on public-employee raises’
Published: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 6:30 AM Updated: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 10:32 AM
Josh Margolin/Statehouse Bureau
TRENTON — Republican Gov. Chris Christie beat back the Democratic leaders of the Legislature Monday — and he used one of their own to do it.
Christie joined with the Democratic Essex County executive to stop a legislative effort to water down his proposal to cap public-employee raises. And by day’s end, even the governor’s most vocal adversaries could do nothing but admit defeat.
Democratic lawmakers were trying to pass a bill that would have allowed exceptions to Christie’s proposal for a so-called "hard cap" on salary increases in public-worker contracts.
The bill, introduced last week by Speaker Sheila Oliver and Senate President Stephen Sweeney, was not only opposed by Christie but Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, and some mayors as well.
The Assembly had been scheduled to vote on the Democratic measure (A3393) but Oliver (D-Essex) was forced to table the bill after determining she lost key support from members of her own caucus. The speaker made the surprising announcement that the bill was being shelved after a frenzied weekend of lobbying by DiVincenzo and others aligned with the governor.
"This is the first time the entire caucus has had the opportunity to vet the bill and have discussion," Oliver said in an interview. "Some enhanced ideas were put on the table that warrant some examination. We want to give the bill that opportunity, to perfect what came out of the Budget Committee last week."
But two ranking sources inside Oliver’s own caucus who supported the Democratic bill said it is dead. The Democratic lawmakers, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal private conversations with the speaker, said they do not envision the measure being revived.
Sweeney (D-Gloucester) declined to comment.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
• N.J. Assembly Democrats postpone voting on arbitration change for public workers
• Gov. Christie issues ultimatum to N.J. Legislature on property tax proposals
• Gov. Christie calls on N.J. lawmakers to take up reform packages
• N.J. towns, cities face rise in appeals, less property tax revenue
• Gov. Christie blames delay of N.J. pension, education, tax overhaul on Democrats
• N.J. Senate President Sweeney says bill seeking property tax cap exception for police, firefighters won't pass
Oliver and Sweeney summoned reporters to a news conference Thursday to announce their proposal to reform the rules governing salary arbitration for public-worker unions. Arbitration is a process that allows a independent referee to decide salaries when government entities cannot work out their differences with labor unions like those that represent police and firefighters.
The Oliver-Sweeney measure called for arbitrators to, among other things, take into account new statutory caps on property tax hikes and the economic condition of the region. However, it did not include a "hard cap" on pay raises Christie and DiVincenzo are pushing.
DiVincenzo, who makes no secret of his bipartisan alliance with the governor, defended his efforts Monday.
"This has nothing to do with my relationship with the governor, this has to do with good government, plain and simple," he said. "For them (Assembly members) to do anything else but this, it wouldn’t be good government."
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak repeated the governor’s support for a tough salary cap and issued another call for the Legislature to pass the tax-control measures proposed by Christie as part of his "took kit" agenda.
"A hard cap would bring meaningful collective-bargaining reform and is essential to finally control property taxes for every New Jersey homeowner," Drewniak said. "Gov. Christie urges the Legislature to fulfill the commitment it made when it passed the 2 percent property tax cap and enact real arbitration reform and the other necessary tool kit bills without further delay."
The Assembly did pass one tool-kit measure Monday, capping payouts for unused sick time accrued by public workers. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.
After Monday’s events in the Assembly, Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex), who has butted heads with DiVincenzo in the past said, "nowadays, you don’t know who is a Democrat."
Assemblyman John Wisniewski, a Middlesex Democrat and chairman of the state’s Democratic Party, said only: "For the record, I’m not going to discuss it at the moment."
Njspotlight.com ‘Church, State, and Charter Schools’
As an increasing number of religious institutions back charter schools, church and state issues may loom large
, October 25 in Education |
The announcement came about halfway through yesterday’s service at St. Matthew’s AME Church in Orange, when the Rev. Reginald Jackson broke from the celebratory music and prayerful message to talk education policy.
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Jackson told his congregation of about 200 that he had applied to the state Department of Education to open a charter school, drawing applause.
“We want a charter school that will provide opportunities for every child to be the best they can be,” he said.
And Jackson asked for a little help: “I want you to be in prayer that the charter school be approved.”
Another Chapter
In another chapter in the pastor’s venerable and outspoken advocacy for school choice, Jackson had instantly added an intriguing twist to the New Jersey’s charter school movement.
Jackson, better known for his advocacy of private school vouchers, has applied not just to lead a charter school himself, but has helped steer four other charter applications this year from pastors in the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, of which he is president.
“Charters are all part of choice,” he said in an interview this weekend. “Maybe the first thing people think about is vouchers, but it’s much more than that in providing our children opportunities.
“And with the state very intent on expanding charter schools,” Jackson said, “this is the time.”
Not In the Classroom
Churches’ involvement in charters is nothing new in New Jersey or nationwide, sometimes a sticky confluence but all legal as long as religious teachings stay out of the classroom. Several established charters in Newark and elsewhere have the overt backing of prominent churches.
And it's not just black churches. A Hebrew-language charter is planned for East Brunswick, and another two are proposed in Englewood and Highland Park.
If approved, the new schools would mark a significant increase in New Jersey charter schools with religious backgrounds. With Rev. Jackson, the movement also gains a powerful and sometimes controversial voice.
“Historically, the African American church has always been outspoken on these issues, the social issues, the education issues,” Jackson said.
He stressed that none of the applications are directly from the churches, but only being led by pastors. In each case, it would be a separate nonprofit organization running the schools, with separate boards, Jackson said.
“Most of the people on the boards are not from the churches, but are from business, the community,” he said.
The other applications from members of the council that Jackson cited:
· Therman Evans Charter School for Excellence (Linden): Rev. Therman Evans
· Regis Academy Charter School (Camden): Pastor Amir Khan
· Atlantic Preparatory School (Mays Landing): Pastor Richard Smith
· Visions of Destiny Academy for Academic Excellence (Trenton): Bishop Herbert Bright
Rules and Regulations
New Jersey is explicit in its regulations on charter schools. They cannot be operated by religious organizations, nor are they permitted to include religious instruction in the curriculum, the same as traditional public schools.
“Charters have been housed in church facilities, churches have raised funds to help charters and church members have volunteered their time,” said Alan Guenther, spokesman for the state Department of Education. But they remain public schools, governed by the same laws and regulations.”
And by and large, nationwide they have kept to those lines, experts say.
“It has been an area of some tension in the charter school movement, and there have been some instances where the boundaries were crossed,” said Katrina Bulkley, an associate professor of education at Montclair State University. “But on the whole, religious organizations are very aware of this concern and tried to keep them separate.”
Hebrew-language schools are an especially tricky point, since they have an inherent link to the Jewish state of Israel. But elsewhere, she said they have so far tread the legal line by focusing instruction on the Hebrew language, much like Chinese and French-language schools.
Still, Bulkley and others said the state still would have to be vigilant that those lines aren’t crossed. The New Jersey Education Association is already critical of the state’s oversight of charter schools.
“Charter schools should not be seen as quasi-private schools that do not need to live up to the standards of other public schools,” said Steve Wollmer, a NJEA spokesman. “Using public school funds to run religious schools would violate the intent of New Jersey's charter school law and would almost certainly invite legal challenges on constitutional grounds.”
Either way, the new dynamic has its political intrigue as well. Bulkley points out the role of black churches in charter schools is especially interesting, given they are historically liberal institutions siding with what is traditionally a more conservative cause. Led by people like Jackson, black ministers have been outspoken proponents of private school vouchers as well.
“It was brilliant move by Republicans to get aligned with them,” Bulkley said. “When this shifted to being about low-income kids, it became an entirely different conversation.”
And yesterday, as his parkside church filled with hymns and amens, Jackson invoked the opportunities available – and not available – to children in cities like Orange that prompted him to file to open the school.
Called the Arete Charter School, it would house up to 300 students in grades K-3. If approved in January, part of an expedited application process, it would open next fall.
“I want these children to have every opportunity,” he told his congregants. “I refuse to believe our children are the only ones who don’t have alternatives.”
“It will be an absolutely excellent charter school, and you ought to give that a hand,” Jackson said.
The pastor raised one more point, as ushers began to line up for the church offering: “And since we have to raise a lot of money for it…“
The Record: ‘Waffles in the toolkit’
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Record
FOR MONTHS now, Governor Christie has pushed his "tool kit" reforms aimed at curbing New Jersey’s highest-in-the-nation property taxes. On Thursday, Democratic legislators responded with a tool of their own — the monkey wrench.
Instead of tackling the issue head on, as the governor has attempted to do, the Legislature has chosen to waffle and delay, which would be preferable to what its leadership did Thursday, which is to offer a response that seeks neither true reform nor real property tax relief.
The issue at hand was arbitration reform. Anyone who has spent much time at all speaking with mayors and municipal council members around the state — be they Democrat or Republican — can tell you this is a matter dear to their hearts, a hurdle to be crossed every year in their annual budgeting process, and one cause in the continuation of higher taxes.
When the Legislature and the governor agreed some months back to implement a 2 percent cap on local property taxes, local leaders were assured that this hard cap would be followed by labor reforms, up to and including one that dealt specifically with arbitration.
It is through the public worker arbitration process that many unions, including firefighters and police, have managed to increase their salary, pension and health care outlays, even during lean times, at sometimes unmanageable rates, to the chagrin of municipal leaders. Christie would like to see arbitration awards held within the 2 percent cap.
On Thursday, the Democratic leadership in the Legislature showed they had other ideas.
Instead of a cap on arbitration, they propose a process that allows for more "flexibility" whereby arbitrators take into account a number of new factors, including the impact of salary increases on taxpayers and on the overall economy. Question: Shouldn’t they be doing that in the first place? Taken another way, it could be argued that arbitrators have been given too much flexibility already, and often that has hurt New Jersey taxpayers.
The Democrat leadership, no doubt feeling the pressure from their union supporters, argued Thursday that arbitration is only one part of the problematic tax equation. They proposed instead that a closer look should be given to taking on home rule, and that they would pursue a vigorous campaign to push more consolidation and shared services.
"We have too much government," said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester.
Few people in New Jersey would disagree. Yet part of the reason that government is so costly and unwieldy is because of often unaffordable personnel contracts towns must negotiate year after year.
As stated here before, we would welcome more consolidation of services, but it has to come from the ground up, from individual cities and towns and counties agreeing, and figuring it out on their own, not through a state mandate. And shared service agreements are increasing, thanks in part to the 2 percent local tax cap, slowly but surely, across North Jersey.
However, focusing attention on home rule instead of binding arbitration and other fundamental reforms is missing the point entirely. Arbitration has been an albatross around the necks of local governments big and small. It continues to weigh heavily on other budgetary considerations. If Democrats don’t like the idea of a hard cap, they should offer another real alternative instead of simply trying to muddy the issue.
FOR MONTHS now, Governor Christie has pushed his "tool kit" reforms aimed at curbing New Jersey’s highest-in-the-nation property taxes. On Thursday, Democratic legislators responded with a tool of their own — the monkey wrench.
Instead of tackling the issue head on, as the governor has attempted to do, the Legislature has chosen to waffle and delay, which would be preferable to what its leadership did Thursday, which is to offer a response that seeks neither true reform nor real property tax relief.
The issue at hand was arbitration reform. Anyone who has spent much time at all speaking with mayors and municipal council members around the state — be they Democrat or Republican — can tell you this is a matter dear to their hearts, a hurdle to be crossed every year in their annual budgeting process, and one cause in the continuation of higher taxes.
When the Legislature and the governor agreed some months back to implement a 2 percent cap on local property taxes, local leaders were assured that this hard cap would be followed by labor reforms, up to and including one that dealt specifically with arbitration.
It is through the public worker arbitration process that many unions, including firefighters and police, have managed to increase their salary, pension and health care outlays, even during lean times, at sometimes unmanageable rates, to the chagrin of municipal leaders. Christie would like to see arbitration awards held within the 2 percent cap.
On Thursday, the Democratic leadership in the Legislature showed they had other ideas.
Instead of a cap on arbitration, they propose a process that allows for more "flexibility" whereby arbitrators take into account a number of new factors, including the impact of salary increases on taxpayers and on the overall economy. Question: Shouldn’t they be doing that in the first place? Taken another way, it could be argued that arbitrators have been given too much flexibility already, and often that has hurt New Jersey taxpayers.
The Democrat leadership, no doubt feeling the pressure from their union supporters, argued Thursday that arbitration is only one part of the problematic tax equation. They proposed instead that a closer look should be given to taking on home rule, and that they would pursue a vigorous campaign to push more consolidation and shared services.
"We have too much government," said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester.
Few people in New Jersey would disagree. Yet part of the reason that government is so costly and unwieldy is because of often unaffordable personnel contracts towns must negotiate year after year.
As stated here before, we would welcome more consolidation of services, but it has to come from the ground up, from individual cities and towns and counties agreeing, and figuring it out on their own, not through a state mandate. And shared service agreements are increasing, thanks in part to the 2 percent local tax cap, slowly but surely, across North Jersey.
However, focusing attention on home rule instead of binding arbitration and other fundamental reforms is missing the point entirely. Arbitration has been an albatross around the necks of local governments big and small. It continues to weigh heavily on other budgetary considerations. If Democrats don’t like the idea of a hard cap, they should offer another real alternative instead of simply trying to muddy the issue.
The Record, ‘Unions work their way into charter schools’
New York Times, Sunday, October 24, 2010, ‘New Jersey’s Governor and the Public Education Debate’
The Record, ‘Unions work their way into charter schools’
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Last updated: Saturday October 23, 2010, 11:30 AM
BY LESLIE BRODY
The Record
STAFF WRITER
In an unusual move, teachers at Englewood on the Palisades Charter School unionized this week and so joined a national debate about how well union rules can co-exist with charter schools' push for autonomy.
Several teachers at the cozy enclave for 200 elementary school children said they joined the American Federation of Teachers to gain a stronger voice in school policy after the charter's board unilaterally extended the school day this fall. Their move makes them the first charter teachers in Bergen or Passaic counties to unionize, joining teachers in about one-fifth of the state's 73 charters.
Some education advocates say there's an uneasy fit between unions and charters, which are publicly funded but independently run. Union officials argue their representation wins better working conditions, helps teachers avoid burnout and improves charters over the long haul. But many charter boosters see freedom from union constraints and district red tape as a big plus in enabling them to experiment. Teachers often choose to work in a charter out of dedication to its particular vision.
"There's a fundamental rub" between unions and charters, said Shelley Skinner, a board member of the New Jersey Charter Schools Association.
"What makes us work is we create our own rules," she said. "We're not cookie-cutter. If we see something at a school isn't working for our kids we can change it immediately. … When you start being into heavy-duty labor agreements it can hold you back from being able to have flexibility."
Seeking out charters
The AFT says it hopes to give more charter teachers negotiating power through collective bargaining — especially as the number of charters seems poised to grow with the encouragement of the Obama and Christie administrations. The AFT represents teachers at 150 of the almost 5,000 charters nationwide, and five more charters sought to join it this fall. Englewood on the Palisades is its second charter in New Jersey.
"If we don't organize charter schools we'll represent a smaller percentage of teachers and have less ability to bargain for market wages and hours," said Shaun Richman, deputy director of organizing at the AFT. "Every teacher deserves a union."
Leaders of the Englewood on the Palisades Charter said they don't object to their teachers' move to unionize.
"That's their right," said board President Rosa Bland. The board increased instruction time because teachers said they lacked enough class time to cover the material, she said, and the board hoped to reverse a dip in math scores in some grades. She said the school revamped its schedule and curriculum this fall to adjust to the state's new content standards, and brought in consultants to help teachers adapt to the new requirements.
"We have gone out of our way to try to assist our teachers so they can be some of the best in the district," Bland said.
Longer school days
Administrators and teachers said they had long appreciated the warm, collegial atmosphere at the 12-year-old charter, one of New Jersey's first. They expressed pride in class size capped at 18 students, a blue-and-white dress code, an after-school program and involved families. But several teachers said they were upset when the board recently lengthened class periods to 55 minutes and shortened unfettered time for preparation. The school added 15 minutes to the school day in each of the past three years. Now it ends at 3:45 p.m.
"You burn the children out," said Catherine Philley, a first-grade teacher. "Children can't learn and teachers can't teach by the end of the day. We're exhausted."
"We weren't consulted" about the changes, said Mary Carpenter, a fifth-grade teacher. "We were told if you don't like it, here's the door. … We felt we needed legal protection."
Board member Walter Jones said he didn't think unionization was necessary because management and faculty had "great" relations. "They're going to be paying a lot of money for union dues and it's not like we're fighting each other," Jones said. The AFT said the school's 20 teachers plus staff would pay from 0.5 to 1.5 percent of salary in dues.
The charter's executive director, Anthony Barckett, said disappointing test scores last year prompted the move to spend 45 minutes more per day this year on reading, writing and math. "We don't make excuses," he said. "We should be doing better."
Most of its students are low-income blacks and Hispanics, whose test scores exceed the district's regular classrooms in some areas and grades, but not others. For example, in 2008-09, 66 percent of the charter's third-graders passed state language arts tests, a better rate than in the district's traditional elementary school. In math, however, 59 percent of the charter's third-graders passed, slightly lower than in the regular school.
Charters nationwide have a mixed record on achievement, but the most successful ones often require longer school days and years. Richman, at the AFT, said excessive demands on many charter teachers led many to quit, and some joined unions to prevent high turnover.
"Some charters want teachers to give out their cellphone numbers and be friends with students on Facebook," Richman said. "That may be very positive for the students, but there are only so many kids you can do that with without losing your mind."
Critical time
Charter leaders, however, often argue spending more time on academics is critical for helping at-risk children catch up. At one of the state's most lauded charter networks, the TEAM Schools in Newark, the regular day runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and there are classes on Saturday. Founder Ryan Hill said his teachers, who aren't unionized, spend about 70 percent more time in school than counterparts in regular district schools, but attrition is low, with only 10 percent of teachers leaving voluntarily each year.
"It's better to feel successful than to go home at 3," Hill said. "It's not like hard work combined with futility. It's hard work combined with changing kids' lives."
Even so, at the New Jersey Education Association, which represents 12 charters, spokesman Steve Baker also warned of "tremendous burnout" at charters without unions. "It's in the best interests of educators and students to have the protections, stability and continuity you tend to have when you have enforceable contracts with representation," he said.
Skinner, of the charter association, also serves as development director at Learning Community Charter School in Jersey City. She said her charter's teachers belonged to the NJEA but were willing to put in extra hours when necessary. She said unions and charters can coexist but "everyone has to acknowledge we are different animals."
"The Learning Community has been very successful, but it's not because we're unionized," Skinner said. "It's because we have a great, amazing staff. They don't bust us when they're asked to do a little more for the kids. At the end of the day, we need a model that is child first, adult second."
E-mail: brody@northjersey.com
In an unusual move, teachers at Englewood on the Palisades Charter School unionized this week and so joined a national debate about how well union rules can co-exist with charter schools' push for autonomy.
Several teachers at the cozy enclave for 200 elementary school children said they joined the American Federation of Teachers to gain a stronger voice in school policy after the charter's board unilaterally extended the school day this fall. Their move makes them the first charter teachers in Bergen or Passaic counties to unionize, joining teachers in about one-fifth of the state's 73 charters.
Some education advocates say there's an uneasy fit between unions and charters, which are publicly funded but independently run. Union officials argue their representation wins better working conditions, helps teachers avoid burnout and improves charters over the long haul. But many charter boosters see freedom from union constraints and district red tape as a big plus in enabling them to experiment.
Teachers often choose to work in a charter out of dedication to its particular vision.
"There's a fundamental rub" between unions and charters, said Shelley Skinner, a board member of the New Jersey Charter Schools Association.
"What makes us work is we create our own rules," she said. "We're not cookie-cutter. If we see something at a school isn't working for our kids we can change it immediately. … When you start being into heavy-duty labor agreements it can hold you back from being able to have flexibility."
Seeking out charters
The AFT says it hopes to give more charter teachers negotiating power through collective bargaining — especially as the number of charters seems poised to grow with the encouragement of the Obama and Christie administrations. The AFT represents teachers at 150 of the almost 5,000 charters nationwide, and five more charters sought to join it this fall. Englewood on the Palisades is its second charter in New Jersey.
"If we don't organize charter schools we'll represent a smaller percentage of teachers and have less ability to bargain for market wages and hours," said Shaun Richman, deputy director of organizing at the AFT. "Every teacher deserves a union."
Leaders of the Englewood on the Palisades Charter said they don't object to their teachers' move to unionize.
"That's their right," said board President Rosa Bland. The board increased instruction time because teachers said they lacked enough class time to cover the material, she said, and the board hoped to reverse a dip in math scores in some grades. She said the school revamped its schedule and curriculum this fall to adjust to the state's new content standards, and brought in consultants to help teachers adapt to the new requirements.
"We have gone out of our way to try to assist our teachers so they can be some of the best in the district," Bland said.
Longer school days
Administrators and teachers said they had long appreciated the warm, collegial atmosphere at the 12-year-old charter, one of New Jersey's first. They expressed pride in class size capped at 18 students, a blue-and-white dress code, an after-school program and involved families. But several teachers said they were upset when the board recently lengthened class periods to 55 minutes and shortened unfettered time for preparation. The school added 15 minutes to the school day in each of the past three years. Now it ends at 3:45 p.m.
"You burn the children out," said Catherine Philley, a first-grade teacher. "Children can't learn and teachers can't teach by the end of the day. We're exhausted."
"We weren't consulted" about the changes, said Mary Carpenter, a fifth-grade teacher. "We were told if you don't like it, here's the door. … We felt we needed legal protection."
Board member Walter Jones said he didn't think unionization was necessary because management and faculty had "great" relations. "They're going to be paying a lot of money for union dues and it's not like we're fighting each other," Jones said.
The AFT said the school's 20 teachers plus staff would pay from 0.5 to 1.5 percent of salary in dues.
New York Times, Sunday, October 24, 2010, ‘New Jersey’s Governor and the Public Education Debate’
By BRENT STAPLES
New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie, has been bludgeoning the state’s teachers and their unions since he took office earlier this year. The name-calling has raised his profile nationally, and made him a darling of the right. It has also made rational conversation on school reform nearly impossible.
Last month, Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, seemed to address this problem when he announced that he was pouring $100 million into a school reform plan in troubled Newark, whose schools are controlled by the state. He said from the start that the plan would be a joint project of politicians, civic groups and the very teachers’ unions that Mr. Christie has been demonizing since Day 1.
The deal as it was originally announced called for Mr. Christie to cede some control of Newark’s schools to Cory Booker, the city’s well-liked mayor. But it became clear just days later that state law allowed for no such transfer of power. This meant the governor would remain very much at the center of a delicate situation.
Newark residents who have been put off by his bullying found more reasons to be suspicious at a legislative hearing earlier this month, where Bret Schundler, the former state education commissioner, provided an eye-opening account of how the state had failed to win a $400 million education grant from the Race to the Top program.
The governor fired Mr. Schundler, saying that he had lied about what went wrong. But in Mr. Schundler’s version of the facts, it was the governor who sabotaged the grant application — in the very depths of a recession — to protect his carefully cultivated image as the scourge of the teachers’ unions.
The federal scoring system for the Race to the Top competition allotted a significant number of points to states that got local and union support for their reform plans. Mr. Schundler succeeded in winning that support, while protecting the state’s reform agenda and getting virtually all of the concessions the state wanted from the unions.
By Mr. Schundler’s account, Governor Christie angrily rejected the compromise because a popular radio program accused him of buckling to union pressure. Mr. Schundler countered with reason, pointing out that the federal grant would cement the state’s reform project and help local districts financially for years to come.
But the governor, he said, was “emphatic that the money didn’t matter to him” and found it intolerable that he would be viewed as having given in to the unions.
This portrayal is consistent with the style for which the Christie administration is well known. It was painfully evident earlier this spring in the administration’s response to what should have been seen as wonderful news for New Jersey’s schools.
The state had just finished near the top nationally in math and reading as measured by the rigorous, federally backed test known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The Christie Education Department dismissed the results as “irrelevant” and described public education generally as “wretched.”
Earlier this year, Mr. Christie accused teachers of “using students like drug mules” with the intent of subverting the political views of their families. During the campaign, he referred to the state’s nationally admired preschool program as baby-sitting.
Mr. Christie raises the right subjects — merit pay, tenure, evaluation — but nearly always in an inflammatory fashion.
None of this will play well in Newark, a city that is famously wary of outsiders. Some Newarkers already see Mr. Booker as the governor’s cat’s paw. Others wager that Mr. Christie will hang him out to dry, as he did Mr. Schundler, if it becomes politically convenient to do so. Even if the school reform effort succeeds, the Christie style will have made it that much harder to pull off.
