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'Corzine education chief to be grilled on lapse' RECORD"... (Commissioner of Education) Davy has been asked to appear before the state Senate’s education committee on Monday to discuss federal stimulus funds for education...New Jersey is eligible for $200 million to $400 million from the Race to the Top fund designed to spur educational reform. But the state is one of just a few that is not applying in January for the first round of grants. "We should be applying now; it’s important," said state Senate Republican leader Tom Kean of Westfield..."
'School choice: Expand N.J.'s existing programs'
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
"...A program that allows children in failing public schools to transfer to better ones that are willing to take them is drawing support from Gov.-elect Chris Christie, who wants to see it expanded...We hope he can make that happen so it can benefit more students now trapped in inferior schools...Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex) has co-sponsored legislation that seeks to remove some of the legislative barriers so the program can grow somewhat..."
Corzine education chief to be grilled on lapse
Saturday, December 5, 2009
BY PATRICIA ALEX
The Record
STAFF WRITER
Education Commissioner Lucille Davy will have to answer for what one lawmaker called a "lapse in judgment" for not applying for a first round of federal funding that could bring more than $200 million to the state’s public schools.
Davy has been asked to appear before the state Senate’s education committee on Monday to discuss federal stimulus funds for education.
New Jersey is eligible for $200 million to $400 million from the Race to the Top fund designed to spur educational reform. But the state is one of just a few that is not applying in January for the first round of grants.
"We should be applying now; it’s important," said state Senate Republican leader Tom Kean of Westfield, who characterized the decision to wait as a lapse in judgment. "It’s myopic, to say the least, to push this onto the next administration."
The application deadline is Jan. 19 – the same day Republican Chris Christie takes over the governor’s office from Democrat Jon Corzine. Davy’s office has said it wants to let the new administration set its own priorities and that the state has nothing to lose by waiting for a second round of funding later in the year.
"They [federal officials] have said repeatedly that states will not be penalized for waiting," said Kathryn Forsyth, spokeswoman for the Education Department.
However, education advocates and Christie’s transition team have criticized the department, and the Corzine administration, for not preparing grant applications for January. There are worries that strong first-round applications could win the lion’s share of funding from the $4.35 billion program. And many note that the state, in the throes of a fiscal crisis, could use the money as soon as possible.
There is also concern that the rancor that marked the gubernatorial campaign is preventing the department and Christie’s transition team from working together on the issue.
"The two leaders of the state are each finger pointing," said Irene Sterling, head of the Paterson Education Fund. "The kids are the political football."
E-mail: alex@northjersey.com
School choice: Expand N.J.'s existing programs
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board/The Star-Led...
December 06, 2009, 5:45AM
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Bottom of Form
A program that allows children in failing public schools to transfer to better ones that are willing to take them is drawing support from Gov.-elect Chris Christie, who wants to see it expanded.
We hope he can make that happen so it can benefit more students now trapped in inferior schools.
Under the Interdistrict School Choice Program, students who are accepted at schools outside their home districts can attend tuition-free. Tax dollars follow them to the new school. Students also receive reimbursement for transportation.
But it’s a small program, in part because it works only when host districts have extra space. The limited number of school districts that have signed on to the program suggests it is not a practical alternative for most students stuck in poorly performing schools.
The program, which started in 2000 as a five-year-pilot project, has just 15 participating districts serving fewer than 1,000 students. It allows one pilot district in each of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
The plan has been touted as a success in Hunterdon and Atlantic counties. But in several of the state’s most populous counties, such as Essex and Middlesex, no districts are participating, typically because they have no room. West Orange, for example, has built a new middle school and added to its high school in recent years. And Montclair has broken ground on a new and bigger elementary school, to keep up with its own growing enrollments.
So the interdistrict choice program will likely always be small. But Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-Essex) has co-sponsored legislation that seeks to remove some of the legislative barriers so the program can grow somewhat. The bills pending in the Legislature would expand the program beyond its 15 approved districts to all counties. It would also remove the one school district per county cap on those participating. Those are helpful steps.
Meanwhile, let’s remember that improving public schools, where most children attend classes, remains the far more important task.
