Christie, advocates blast NJEA position against Race to the Top competition
posted by Loki on Jan.7.2010 at 11:36 am
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Thursday, January 7, 2010
BY LESLIE BRODY
The Record
Children’s advocates and Governor-elect Chris Christie expressed dismay Wednesday that the New Jersey Education Association was lobbying against the state’s bid for up to $400 million in federal grants for school reform.
Chiefs of the teachers unions in Bergen and Passaic counties stood by the statewide stance. The president of NJEA has said the state’s proposal for the “Race to the Top” competition has too many serious flaws, such as efforts to tie teacher pay more closely to student performance, and has told local affiliates not to participate.
Christie, who has had a frosty relationship with the teachers union, said he was “disturbed” to hear the NJEA’s position. He said the NJEA “pretends to put kids first,” but instead “has become so insular and so self-interested” that it would turn down the chance at a cash infusion to help children learn.
Talking at a news conference in Newark, Christie said: “These are people who are so drastically out of touch with the crisis that we’re facing in New Jersey, both fiscally and educationally.”
The NJEA’s disapproval could hurt the state’s pitch for part of the $4.35 billion federal fund. The Obama administration says it wants to reward proposals for bold change that have extensive community support. Districts are supposed to provide signatures from superintendents, board chiefs and local union representatives. The state’s application will be stronger if many districts jump on board.
Joseph Coppola Jr., the head of the Bergen Education Association, said the union was being unfairly scapegoated. He said the eleventh-hour rush to apply left too little time for people to pore over the state’s complex proposal. The first-round deadline is Jan. 19. In states that win the money, districts will have 90 days to hammer out specifics of their projects.
“There are so many things they’re asking you to commit to, but you don’t have the details or they’re vague,” Coppola said. “Anyone that signs an agreement without understanding what they’re agreeing to, that person has to be irresponsible.”
Derrell Bradford, executive director of the bipartisan advocacy group Excellent Education for Everyone, criticized the NJEA for its step “to hamstring the state’s opportunity to get new money and drive reform so they can maintain the status quo.”
“This is a Democratic president’s program,” he added. “When you see them so brazenly saying, ‘No, we can’t be judged, you’re not experienced enough to take a solid look at us and how the kids are doing doesn’t matter’ – when you say it out loud it’s funny. Our kids deserve better and taxpayers deserve better.”
At the Bergen union, Coppola said the state’s ideas for evaluating teachers might undercut policies already set in contracts through collective bargaining. The state’s bid also seeks strong steps in some failing schools, such as replacing staff, lengthening school days and reopening schools as charters.
“With longer days, time is money. Are they going to raise that teacher’s pay 10 percent or are we going to volunteer?” asked Joseph Cheff, head of the Passaic County Education Association. He also warned that if New Jersey instituted expensive reforms with one-shot funds, it would fall on taxpayers to foot the bill long-term.
“If [reforms] are working, where does the money come from?” he asked.
The NJEA is not the only union with concerns. Teachers unions in Florida and Minnesota have threatened to sit out the race.
Irene Sterling, president of the Paterson Education Fund, a grass-roots group, called the NJEA position “terribly unfortunate.”
She noted that Paterson has “two of the schools that are called dropout factories on national lists. … We’re stuck with shootings all the time until we fix this.”
Peter Tirri, head of the Paterson Education Association, said he wasn’t sure yet if he would sign the application if his district decides to participate. “The devil is in the details,” he added.
Claire Heininger of The Star Ledger contributed to this article. E-mail: brody@northjersey.com