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A Visit to the Garden State
posted by: Alix | April 21, 2011, 06:41 PM   

New Jersey has been considered the center of the education reform world for months. Led by tough-talking Governor Chris Christie, the state has seen its recent share of national headlines. What started as a war of words between Christie and the NJEA has continued to develop into real life reform plans, even yielding commentary and visits from the Obama administration.

In the wake of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million donation to the Newark school system, Mayor Cory Booker met with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan yesterday in hopes of publicizing the TEACH program, aimed at recruiting more teachers to work in urban and rural areas.

Following his visit with the Mayor of Newark, Secretary Duncan met with Governor Christie to discuss his controversial plans for the state. Much to the surprise of the media, Christie said he and Duncan "have a lot in common ... in the education reform agenda." Christie went as far as calling himself an "ally" on education issues.

While Governor Christie is often pegged as difficult by the NJEA, his collaborative spirit says a lot about Christie's agenda and the state of education in this country. If a rising star in the Republican Party and a member of Obama's cabinet can see eye to eye on these policy initiatives, it goes to show that not only are these issues incredibly current but it's possible to work together in a bipartisan manner to reach solutions.

While leaders in education can agree on the need for policy changes, the dividing lines often fall when discussing funding. Currently Governor Christie is in a legal battle over his cuts to education spending. While it should be no surprise that most states are facing monumental budget shortfalls, the Christie administration sought to slash millions from the state's education budget in light of the economic crisis.

The cuts were challenged in court by the Education Law Center in Newark, an education advocacy organization that argued the cuts deprived students of their right to an education. The case is being heard by the New Jersey Supreme Court this week.

While lawyers for the Christie administration admit that cuts can be difficult, they argued that the cuts have not caused the state to abandon its responsibility to provide all students with a "thorough and efficient" education, but that the burden must be measured against the constitutional obligation to keep the state budget in balance.

In conjunction with the court fight over funding, Quinnipiac University released the results of a poll that found 60 percent of New Jersey residents support additional spending in all public schools, but 53 percent say the Supreme Court shouldn't order that more of the state budget be directed to K-12 public education.

While it may sound simple to increase education spending, the financial realities tell a different story. As Governor Christie frequently points out, regardless of spending levels we are facing dismal results. In low-income districts, the state now spends as much on education as the wealthiest districts—and in several cases, more. For meaningful education reform, legislators and policy makers need to work together to come up with fiscally sound solutions that fit with budget realities.

What do you think about New Jersey's situation? Do you see similarities in your state?

Comment below.

Comments (2)Add Comment
middle school foreign language teacher
written by Mary Terkoski, April 22, 2011

While I'm not a member of a the teachers' union because of the causes NEA supports, that doesn't mean I am opposed to unions. I am appalled at the legislation being proposed in Ohio, Indiana, and across the nation that seeks to undermine teachers by cutting their salaries, their benefits, their pensions, etc. I support education reform, too, but this is NOT the way to achieve it. Also, I realize that our states are experiencing serious budget problems, but why should they take money AWAY from people? My colleagues and I work hard for our salaries and are good teachers. We are weary of being blamed for all of the troubles in the schools today. I have a novel idea: why don't the legislators volunteer to give up some of their salaries to balance the budget?
middle school foreign language teacher
written by Mary Terkoski, April 22, 2011

While I'm not a member of a the teachers' union because of the causes NEA supports, that doesn't mean I am opposed to unions. I am appalled at the legislation being proposed in Ohio, Indiana, and across the nation that seeks to undermine teachers by cutting their salaries, their benefits, their pensions, etc. I support education reform, too, but this is NOT the way to achieve it. Also, I realize that our states are experiencing serious budget problems, but why should they take money AWAY from people? My colleagues and I work hard for our salaries and are good teachers. We are weary of being blamed for all of the troubles in the schools today. I have a novel idea: why don't the legislators volunteer to give up some of their salaries to balance the budget?

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